Rita Seitchek Dicker

Rita (Seitchek) Dicker passed away on Monday, June 26, 2017 at Abington-Jefferson Health. She was 95. Rita was the daughter of Jacob and Anna (Adamchick) Seitchek and grew up in Luzerne, PA. Having graduated from Bucknell Junior College, now Wilkes University, Rita moved to Abington in 1942 to begin work as a lab technician at then Abington Memorial Hospital.Rita and her husband T. Howard had been married for nearly 70 years. Howard had the exceedingly good fortune to have a friend suggest he and Rita correspond while he served during WWII. When he returned to Noble, Rita and Howard met in person at a family dinner arranged by Howard’s Aunt Carrie. They married in 1947 and resided in their current home since 1956, always surrounded by many truly wonderful neighbors, as they too were in turn.Rita was a hard worker with a lively, curious mind and love of music and dogs, and she passed on these traits to her daughters. She and Howard were a great team, tackling projects together enthusiastically and well. Rita worked outside the home much of her adult life, starting as a lab technician and later retiring from the venipuncture team at Abington Memorial Hospital. For a time, she traded her lab coat for part-time sales job at Wanamaker’s Department Store in Jenkintown as it fit school schedules better.Rita was a true homemaker, a terrific cook, seamstress and knitter. She was always willing to try a new recipe and there remain endless cookbooks and clippings of potential good ones!Rita was proud of her Slovak heritage. Howard learned to polka and they 1, 2, 3’d their way through many years of basement family gatherings. The family continues to enjoy many Slovak Christmas traditions as Rita continued what she learned from her mother, and Sharon has done the same.  Rita loved her neighborhood, her neighbors both current and former, and their dogs. She played in her bridge club regularly for many years, and her daughters attended school with many of her bridge partners’ children. She and Howard attended Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, where Rita sang in the choir. Rita, Howard and the girls vacationed in Surf City, Long Beach Island. Later family trips were to Florida when many of Rita’s aunts and uncles moved to the St. Petersburg area. Rita and Howard made the drives there and back as interesting and fun as the times in Florida. After retirement, they became an RV duo, traveling and camping extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada.Rita is survived by her husband T. Howard Dicker; two daughters, Sharon Dicker of Horsham, PA and Janice (Michael) Ceneviva of Hatboro, PA; four grandchildren, Adam, Drew, Bailey, and Colby Ceneviva; and two granddogs, Cactus and Schultz.Rita’s family loved her, and they’ll miss her deeply.Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12, 2017 from 9:00 am – 10:00 am at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, 1500 Marian Rd, Abington, PA. A funeral mass will follow at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Rita’s memory may be made to: Abington Choral Club, PO Box 123, Wyncote, PA 19095.