Rita Germer

Rita Joyce Germer, daughter of the late Otho Eugene and Audrey May (Tate) Baty, was born May 10, 1952, in San Francisco, California, and passed away December 1, 2020, at her home in Mountain Grove, Missouri. She was 68 years, 6 months, and 22 days of age.

Rita was raised in California. She was a proud hippie and she loved to talk about the sixties and seventies. She loved everybody and treated everyone equally. Throughout the years, there were many people she fed and housed when no one else would. If you came to Rita’s house, you knew you would have a place to stay, food to eat, and be treated like family. So many called her mom and grandma. She continually gave to others so much that she owed nothing else to the world.

Rita married Gregory Germer on St. Patrick’s Day in 1982 at Lake Tahoe, California. She loved her kids and grandkids greatly. They believed she was the best mom and grandma anyone could ever have. Rita greatly enjoyed the holidays spent with family and friends and loved football Sundays. Rita worked as a waitress for several years. In her spare time, she liked taking trips and staying in hotels. Rita was a very strong fighter and battled cancer for more than eight years.

Besides her parents, Rita was preceded in death by her husband, Gregory.

She is survived by two sons, Austin Germer (Tara) of Mountain Grove, Missouri, and Anthony Gallegos II of Oakland, California, one daughter, Kelly Gallegos-Hammack (Randal) of Mountain Grove, Missouri, two brothers, Ken Baty (Shirley) and Randy Baty (Terry), one sister, Karen Stanley (Mike), six grandchildren, Katelyn Germer, Anthony Lewis, Alexandria Hammack, Anthony Gallegos III, Sierra Rose, and Tegan, two great-grandchildren, Easton Gregory Hammack and Emma Joyce Story, and many other relatives and friends who will miss her greatly.