Rita C. Irons

Beloved daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and “Nana,”
Rita C. Bentley Irons was born in Guys Mills, PA on May 16, 1931 to Helen L. and
Raymond E. Bentley.

Her beloved younger sisters Constance (“Connie”) and Gloria followed a few years
later. Mom became like a second mom to Gloria, citing the experience caring for her as
a help in raising her own children. Rita graduated from Randolph East Mead High
School (PA) in 1949 and Edinboro (PA) State Teachers College in 1953.

She married David R. Irons September 1,1954, with sons Douglas born in June 1955,
Kevin in June 1958, Bruce in May 1965 and daughter Cheryl in November 1967.

Rita used her teaching degree to support the family – including teaching son Kevin in
first grade (he called her “Mrs. Irons” the whole time) – until the family moved to Fair
Lawn, NJ in 1964. She was a full-time mom and homemaker there, in Guilderland
(Schenectady), NY and, for a while, after moving to Lilburn, GA in 1979. Later, when her
children were mostly grown, she became a real estate agent in Lilburn until her
retirement in 2009, when she moved to Columbus, GA to be closer to daughter Cheryl
and her family. In Columbus, she found a beloved church family at Edgewood
Presbyterian and became active in their senior group, appropriately named “The Lively
Ones.” In 2019, she moved to Ashton Manor Independent Living Facility in
Lawrenceville, near son Bruce and his family.

Relationships were mom’s top priority – first to her family, then to her churches, then to
her friends and neighbors. It was a family joke that her four children were as different as
the four points of a compass, but she loved each of us with all her heart, treasuring and
enjoying our differences, talents, accomplishments, gifts and personalities. She gave
her children all the greatest gifts a parent can give, which is having each of us believe
we were her favorite, and we all were right to think so. She never played favorites in
love or discipline.

When grandchildren and great-grandchildren came along, “Nana” didn’t divide her love
but rather, she multiplied it, loving and treasuring Courtney, Caroline, Emiline and
William as her own and great-grands Catherine and Carter in the same way. Nana
would often joke about the joy of being a grandparent, saying, “If I’d have known how
great this is, I would’ve had them first!”

Mom was always positive and upbeat, never complaining about any situation, turning
every lemon in life into lemonade, and never said a harsh word about anyone. She was
the sweetest person on the planet, with the purest heart ever. She never sought the
limelight, but rather was a quiet force of support in the background, loving and serving
all around her.

Rita C. Bentley Irons passed away September 25, 2024, in Lawrenceville GA, preceded
in death by her parents and her ex-husband, and is survived by sons Douglas, Kevin,
Bruce (Teresa) Irons and daughter Cheryl Irons Myers, sisters Connie Bentley Mulligan
(Bob) and Gloria Bentley Werninck (Kirby), granddaughters Courtney Irons Goershel
(Chris), Caroline Irons and Emiline Myers and grandson William Irons, and great-
grandchildren Catherine and Carter Goershel, along with a host of cousins and
countless loved ones that we consider family.

Family and friends visitation will be held Thursday, October 3, 2024, from 6 to 8 PM,
with a Celebration of Life service on Friday, October 4 at 2 PM; both at Wages & Sons
Funeral Home at 1031 Lawrenceville Hwy in Lawrenceville.