Programmer, salesperson, vocalist
Rita Lancaster. (Courtesy photo)
Rita M. Lancaster, of Withington Lane, died at age 70 at the Apple Valley nursing home in Ayer after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Rita was the daughter of Daniel Lancaster of Andover, who was born in Preston, England, in 1907, and Rita Bell, who was born in Lawrence in 1906. Rita and her husband of 37 years, Joseph Dzekevich, moved to Harvard just after the blizzard of 1978. Rita graduated with the Class of 1963 from St. Patrick’s High School in Lawrence. In 1967 she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics with a minor in education from Merrimack College in North Andover.
After college, Rita went to work for Digital Equipment Corporation, where she wrote PDP 8 computer programs for numerical control of industrial milling machines, visited installations, demonstrated the software at trade shows, and trained salespeople. Rita was Digital’s first female programmer. She went on to be a software specialist at Digital’s Cambridge sales office, a senior marketing specialist for Digital’s Marlborough-based computer-aided design (CAD) products, and the corporate promotions manager who announced Digital’s VAX computer line. Finally, she worked as a technical writer and course developer.
Rita was a member of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, where she enjoyed music, was a soprano in the church choir, and sang in a local church-based folk music group called The Lost Chords. She also loved the outdoors, liked walking, and enjoyed past summer homes in Bar Harbor, Maine, and North Woodstock, New Hampshire. For many years Rita was a member of Pets and People, and she visited and brought joy to Alzheimer’s and dementia residents with her dogs Chelsea and Pepper at various nursing homes in Concord.
Rita is survived by her husband, Joseph Dzekevich of Harvard; her sister and brother-in-law Anne and David DeNuccio of Farmington, Connecticut; her sister Jane Carrigg of Lexington; her brother and sister-in-law Jim and Jackie Lancaster of East Wakefield, New Hampshire; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service for Rita will be held Sunday, November 1, 2015, 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church on the Common in Harvard, followed by a reception in the church’s Fellowship Building.
For those wishing to make a donation in Rita’s name, the family suggests the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472 to support research in stopping this disease and helping people who have it. Please see www.badgerfuneral.com for more information.
