Rita Cozette Walthall

Funeral services for Rita Cozette Reed Walthall, 86, of West Monroe, will be held at 2:00 P.M., Thursday, May 4, 2023, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home, with Don Delukie officiating. Interment will follow at Hasley Cemetery in West Monroe. Visitation will be from 1:00 P.M. until service time on Thursday.

Mrs. Walthall was born June 23, 1936, in Shawnee, Oklahoma and passed away April 29, 2023.

Upon graduation from Ada High School in 1954 she pursued a degree in special education. During that time, she was contacted by the local telephone company and offered a position as a telephone operator. She enjoyed that position so much that she made it her career. It was during that time that she met Joe C. Walthall who was serving in the US Air Force. They married in July of 1956. After that she transferred to South Central Bell and moved to Monroe with her husband.

After they began a family, she became a full-time housewife and mother. Rita was a wonderful mother and wife. She raised her children in church and was a long-time devoted member of Jackson St. Church of Christ. Rita was loved by so many. Her contagious laughter and smile brought joy to everyone. She never met a stranger. She was always so eager to share her stories of her beloved children, grandchildren, and even her great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents. Bessie and John Reed; her son, Scott Douglas Walthall; husband of 64 years, Joe C. Walthall.

Survivors include her daughter, Donna Walthall Sawyer and husband Keith; brother, Roger and wife Billie Reed; grandchildren, Kacey Waller, Kayla Howington and husband Adam; Zach Walthall and wife Amy; Cody Durret and wife Cydney, and Pamela Walthall Davis; great grandchildren, Ava and Olivia Howington, Tom and June Walthall, and Daniel Rolin.

A special thanks to the nurses of the CCU (Haley) and Dr. G. at St. Francis Hospital. They were wonderful to our family in our time of need.