A longtime member of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, Rita Radest, died on Aug. 12 at the age of 88. Rita, widow of our Society’s first leader, Dr.
Howard and Rita Radest in 2013.
Howard Radest, was a longstanding and active member of our community. She was a professional teacher and had served as director of the Society’s Sunday School in the 1950s. She, along with Howard, often participated in the Society’s social events in decades past.
In her active years in the Society, Rita lived in Fair Lawn, and after Howard’s retirement from work in the Ethical Movement, they relocated to Hilton Head, North Carolina. (Howard subsequently served as the executive director of the American Ethical Union and director of the Ethical Culture Schools). They returned to New Jersey about 15 years ago to be closer to their sons, Michael and Rob, and to their grandchildren, and resided in the Crane’s Mill residence in Caldwell.
A memorial service will be held in September at a date to be determined.
