Rita Helen (Kalafus) Jannetty, age 89, of Stratford, beloved wife of the late Joseph J. “Jay” Jannetty Jr., passed away Friday, June 14, 2019 in Saint Vincent’s Medical Center, Bridgeport.

Mrs. Jannetty was born September 18, 1929 in Bridgeport, daughter of the late John and Helen (Emerson) Kalafus Sr. and had been a lifetime Stratford resident.

Along with her husband Jay, Rita was the co-owner of Jannetty Photography Studios. She was a graduate of Stratford High School and the Barbizon School of Modeling in New York City. Rita enjoyed the small things in life - gardening, playing Bingo with her friends and was a dedicated volunteer at the Baldwin Senior Center, Stratford, working at the Information Desk.

She especially enjoyed spending time with her family on birthdays and holidays and telling her grandchildren stories about, “the good old days,” taking the train to New York, skating on Brewster’s Pond, and reminiscing about her brother John’s career with the Raybestos Cardinals. One of her greatest memories of that was when his glove was retired in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Connecticut.

Survivors include her three children; Donna Barnaby and her husband, Leon, Jaime Jannetty and his wife Pamela and Duane Jannetty; eight beloved grandchildren, Jennifer Barnaby, Stacey Barnaby Ross and her husband Michael and Brian Barnaby, Jillian Wilhelm and her husband Matthew, Jaclyn Jannetty, Jeffrey Jannetty, and Joseph Jannetty and Victoria Jannetty; one great-grandson, Everett James Wilhelm and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by a grandson, Brandon Jannetty and her two brothers, Edward and John Kalafus Jr.

Friends are invited to attend a Funeral Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Reverend Birendra Soreng on Friday June 21, 2019 at 11:00 am by meeting directly at Saint Mark Church, 500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT.

Interment will follow in Saint John’s Cemetery, Monroe.

Friends may visit with her family Thursday, June 20, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the William R. McDonald Funeral Home, 2591 Main St., Stratford.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Saint Mark Church Building Fund, 500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT 06614.

For additional information or to share an online condolence, please visit www.wrmcdonaldfuneralhome.com.

To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Rita (Kalafus) Jannetty, please visit our Tribute Store.

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