Rita Lydick, 73, of Bucyrus, passed peacefully on Sunday, July 2, 2023 at her home surrounded by her family following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was born August 6, 1949 in Ashland, Ohio to the late William W. and Lavaughn “Bonnie” (Johnson) Wilson. Rita spent her entire youth and early adulthood in Ashland and always considered it home. She was a 1967 graduate of Ashland High School and like many other family members, she hired in at ODOT, starting in the DECA program at 17 and continuing for 35 years, referring to herself as a “glorified bookkeeper”. This is also where she met Matt Lydick, whom she married on November 16, 1983.
Rita enjoyed time spent with family, especially when little ones were present. She and Matt created countless memories from their many trips to Amish Country looking for antiques and visiting friends. She was also fond of travels to Michigan where she would visit family. Rita travelled to Hawaii and experienced the filming of Hawaii-Five-O and The Brady Bunch. Christmas was her favorite holiday, and this meant multiple shopping trips, including to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth. She had an extensive porcelain doll collection and was a very artistic and crafty individual. She often put her skills to work crocheting beautiful baby blankets which became gifts for family and friends. Rita spent many hours tending to her flowers and saw to it that the hummingbird bird feeders were full as she loved watching them zip around the yard. Another favorite hobby was genealogy, and she spent more time than most enthusiasts researching her family history, going back several generations. For relaxation, Rita could be found watching TV. Her absolute favorite show was Star Trek, but she also enjoyed older western shows and fictional disaster movies.
She will be deeply missed by her children, Scott Lydick, Stephanie Lydick and Samantha Lydick; grandchildren, Blake and Dominick, whom she adored; sister, Kristi (Jim) Kirtland; sister-in-law, Diann Stinehelfer; brother-in-law, John Mizick and many other extended family members including her “little buddy”, Caspian Hall, who brought her many smiles.
In addition to her parents, Rita was preceded in death by her husband of 32 years, Matt Lydick and a sister-in-law, Kathy Mizick.