Rita Marie Favero, 98 of Springfield, died at 6:55 pm, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at her home. She was born February 2, 1928, in Springfield, to Edward A. and Frances (Merklin) Groesch. He married Renato Favero on June 29, 1947, and he preceded her in death on February 4, 2026.
Survivors include her children, Donna Pforr, Kevin (Gwen) Favero, Paul (Phyllis) Favero, Janice (Daniel) Viele, Colette (James) Ellenberg, Daniel (Melinda) Favero, Carol (Thomas) Burke, Jeremiah (Lynn) Favero and Mary (Mike Burke) Favero; twenty-four grandchildren, Anthony, Matthew (Carlita), Douglas (Leticia), Layla (Steve), Renee (David), Samuel, Jonathan, James (Kate), Mario (Alexis), Rachel (Alex), Renata (Seth), Adah, Valerie, Reed, Catherine (Matthew), James (Grace), Rosemary (Jeff), Louis, Raymondo (Hina), Rebecca, John, Amelia (Mich), Siobhan and Khadijah; thirty-seven great grandchildren, Tyler, Adam, Kalila, Alejandro, Haley, Sophia, Pablo, Raziah, Lily, Zenaida, Paige, Julia, Kayne, Cristina, Jay, Finn, Henrik, Violet, Westley, Poppy, Eric, Anders, Victoria, Penelope, Joren, Armen, Leon, Marlowe, Ethan, Kai, Mako, Novaleigh, Desmond, Haakon, Charlie, Nana and Dahlia.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Renato; two children, Cecilia and Marsha who died as infants; brothers, Reverend Edward, Joseph (Mary), Lubert (Lorene) and Louis (Betty) Groesch and her sisters, Loretta (Roy) Bowman, Margaret Michael) Burns, Dolores (Jack) Owensby and her son-in-law, Thomas Pforr. Rita attended Sts. Peter and Paul Grade School and Ursuline Academy. She continued to meet with some of her classmates for lunch and reunions during most of her adult life.
Caring for her husband and children was the joy of her life. She had 9 living children in 13 years. It was around 1955 when she got her first dryer… Just think of all the diapers that had been hung on that clothesline over those many years. Feeding all of her children made her creative in her cooking – her daughter bought her a book called “365 days of hamburger menus”. Renato and the boys planted a large garden every year and Rita and the girls canned the harvest. Many life lessons were taught and learned during those days working closely together. She also played with her children, working puzzles on the floor, playing games, going swimming at the lake – they were always home in time to pick up Dad at work. There were always a group of kids playing in the side yard. She often made treats for them.
She and Renato opened their home to several high school students who lived with them while they spent time in the Illinois legislature learning about state government.
Several of her daughter’s friends from St. John’s School of Nursing would come for supper once a week and sometimes spend the night on the weekends – sleeping on the living room floor – so they could stay out past the curfew at the dorm. They lovingly called her “Momma Rita.”
Once her children were grown, she and Renato made many trips throughout the United States to see their children and grandchildren in Missouri, New Mexico, Wyoming, Minnesota and throughout Illinois. Along the way they would visit other family members, siblings and nieces and nephews who lived around the country. They also went on trips with Paul and Phyllis to Mexico and with Donna and Tom to Alaska, Italy, Germany, Austria, France and Spain. They attended Favero Fun-a-Rama reunions in California, Utah, Florida and Ohio along with Groesch and Favero reunions in Springfield.
Rita worked for the State of Illinois prior to having children. She was a homemaker during her children’s formative years and worked for Architect Ed Cooke and Manpower after they were grown. She started playing tennis with Mary, her youngest daughter when Mary was in high school and after retirement, she played tennis in the Senior Olympics winning many gold medals – some for singles and some for doubles with her sister Marge. She was also an avid golfer and helped out at the LPGA tournaments for many years. Dancing with the Golden Girls tap dance troupe was another of her fun activities – they entertained at nursing homes in the area and performed for several years at the Illinois State Fair. She enjoyed her acting career as a simulated patient for medical students at SIU; Helping them learn compassion and caring for their future lives as doctors. She played many roles with different diagnoses or as a family member.
A devout and faithful Catholic and spiritual leader of her extended family, she has been a member of St. Frances Cabrini Parish since the church was built and was active in the Altar and Rosary Society and loved singing in the choir for many years. Recalling some of her early memories when we were talking recently, she said her dad used to dance with her around the house, that she had 2 uniforms for school – one to wash and one to war. The same was true of dresses, she had one for church and one for play. While a student at Sts Peter and Paul, they would bring gunnysacks to school so they could slide down the fire escapes periodically to clean out the tube escape routes! Her father died when she was 14 and she enjoyed helping her mom in the Groesch meat market, cutting the meat in the right width pieces, selling it and cleaning up at the end of the day. She surely has many more memories that this author does not know or recall since she lived for 98 ½ years as an active participant in the life around her.
Visitation: 9:30 – 11:15 am, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at St. Frances Cabrini Church Hall.
Funeral Mass: 11:30 am, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at St. Cabrini Church with Reverend George Nellikunnell, officiating. Burial will be at Camp Butler National Cemetery where she will be interred with her husband, Renato.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Frances Cabrini Church or the Guiding Eyes for the Blind or an organization of the donor’s choice.
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