Rita Edmire Clement Hosley of Yarmouth Port, MA, formerly from Massena and Long Lake, New York, a devoted wife, a loving mother and a proud grandmother and great-grandmother, left us September 10, 2026. She was 99 years old. She will always be with us in our hearts.
 
Rita was born August 12, 1927, to Edmund ‘Ged’ and Rose Clement in Long Lake, New York. She was the middle child with an older brother Art and a younger brother — eight years younger — Edmund who she looked after like he was her son. She grew up in Long Lake helping her family with their boarding house, gas station and bakery and as a teenager worked summers at the Sagamore Hotel as a roll girl. Attending Long Lake Central School she was a good athlete playing softball, she was a short stop and was remembered for hitting a home run. She also played basketball.
 
After graduating she attended Mildred Elley College in Albany, New York. She and her classmate, Edwina Wilson, regularly travel back to Long Lake on weekends. After graduating she returned to Long Lake where she worked at Whitney Park. Throughout her career she also worked for the Town of Long Lake, Freeman’s Store and the school.
 
In 1945 she met Edwin Hosley who was returning from England after serving in WWII with the Eighth Air Corps. She liked to share the first thing he said to her, “Where have you been all my life?” Rita Clement and Edwin Hosley married on September 28, 1946. 
 
Rita was a dedicated wife, a worker and mother who built wonderful memories and lasting friendships wherever she was. One of the things that stands out is her ‘style’ — always dressed well and proper with hair in place.
 
She liked history especially local history. She was proud to say how she had known people born as early as 1863 (her grandfather Isaac Clement), a span of 163 years this year.
 
Rita’s greatest joy was her family. A devoted wife for 68 years, a loving mother to a son James and a daughter Judy, a loving grandmother to four grandchildren Sean, Melissa, James and Jillian, and a loving great grandmother to six great grandchildren Henry, Caroline, Jackson, Tommy, Tristan, and August.
 
Her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brother Edmund and friends will always remember her caring personality and willingness to give of herself. She lived well, laughed often, loved deeply, and her legacy of grace will live on in the hearts of all she touched.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, September 21, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Pius X Church, Station Ave, South Yarmouth, MA.

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