Benton, Maine - Rita S. Fortin, 84, of Benton, Maine, passed away at her home on September 28, 2026, following a brief but courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. She left this world bathed in the love of her family.

Rita was born on March 24, 1942, the seventh of ten children of Noel and Rose Bolduc. She graduated high school from Bloomfield Academy in Skowhegan and went on to graduate from Augusta General Hospital’s radiology technology program. In 1962, she married the love of her life, Gerald (Jerry) Fortin, with whom she raised her five children on their family farm in Benton, Maine. As her family grew, Rita stepped away from her career as a radiation technologist and embraced her roles as a full-time mother and farm wife. Rita resumed her career twenty years later when her youngest child was in junior high. She worked as an x-ray technician and mammography technologist at Inland Hospital in Waterville and later at Sebasticook Hospital in Pittsfield until her retirement in 2010.

Rita was a vivacious woman who brought her full self to everything she did. She was a fully involved and present mother who, together with Jerry, created a loving, fun and hard-working family life on the farm. She was known for wearing bright colors, fun socks, and holiday attire on every opportunity. Having taken up quilting with her sisters in the late 1980s, Rita and her sisters met every week for over 25 years to sew together. She made a point of making a hand-made quilt for each of her children and grandchildren and she also made a crocheted Afghan blanket for each of her great-grandchildren. Highly scheduled and ever on the go, she once left her own birthday party to attend a funeral of a community member.

Rita lived her life in service to others with enthusiasm, laughter and joy. She showed up for people in every conceivable way – usually with homemade food. Aside from the countless individual ways she supported family and friends throughout her life, Rita was also an active member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Fairfield, where she taught catechism to Catholic children for 15 years and for over 20 years, she taught Rites of Christian Initiation to adults wanting to become Catholic. She also served on the Parish Council and served as a lector and Eucharist Minister for many years. Rita was an active member of Victor Grange of Fairfield Center for over 50 years; she participated in the Grange “Senior Circle,” cooking and serving meals to the elderly well into her 80s; she was a member of Clinton Day Group of Cooperative Extension for over 50 years, serving as president for many of her last several years; a member of Somerset County Cooperative Extension; and she volunteered at the Fairfield Food Panty twice a month for the past 10 years.

Until her death, Rita remained entrenched in the community that she loved so dearly. It was a great joy to watch her perform plays over the years through her 70s and 80s, both with Victor Grange and as a member of the Recycled Shakespear Troupe in Fairfield, of which she was an original member. She experienced great joy participating in a weekly sewing group over the past 10 years, and in more recent years she took up painting lessons with her friend and cribbage tournament partner, Jean Savage. Despite constantly being pulled in multiple directions, Rita never failed to make time for those she loved. When she gave a gift, she gave it with love and when she gave you her attention, she gave you every bit of it.

Rita leaves behind her five children; Judy Fortin of Benton and the child of her heart, Jackie; Joan Fortin and her husband, Chet Randall, of Portland and their children Michael and Lainey Randall; Andy Fortin and his partner, Sandy Irving, of Benton and his children Anthony Fortin and wife, Malley, Timothy Fortin and wife, Stephanie, Nakita Gangloff and husband Charles, and Gary Wilber; Jan Bancroft and her husband, Ryan, of New Orleans, LA and their children, Sarah, Rachel, and Matthew Bancroft; and Allan Fortin and his wife, Pamela, of Fairfield, and their children Madelyn McKenzie and her husband, Brody, and Jackson Fortin and his fiancé, Victoria Dubay; and greatgrandchildren Samuel and Harrison McKenzie, Henry Fortin, and Alexandria and Charles Gangloff.

She is also survived by a large extended family, including her brother, Raymond Bolduc and his wife, Peg, of Auburn, NH, and an array of cherished nieces and nephews along with their spouses. Rita was predeceased by her beloved husband of 56 years, Gerald Fortin, her parents, Noel and Rose Bolduc, eight of her siblings, and eight of her nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will be a Veilleux-Redington-Lawry Brothers, 8 Elm Street in Waterville on Friday, October 9, 2026, from 2-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, October 10, at 11 a.m. at Notre Dame Catholic Church, 116 Silver Street in Waterville. A reception will follow immediately after the mass. A private committal will take place at a later time.

Rita requested in advance that at the time of her death, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org).