Rita Hackney Steiner of Sandy Hook, CT passed away from complications due to cancer on Dec. 2, 2009, leaving her sister, Joyce Grohman, Pomona, NJ, her son, Chet Steiner, McLean, VA, three grandchildren, Phoebe, Giles and Sophie Steiner, her daughter-in-law, Amelia, her companion of 38 years, Robert Haavind, and her former husband, Don Steiner, Boston, MA. A celebration of her life is planned at Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, Saturday, Dec. 12, from 1 to 3 pm. Rita Hackney was born Sept. 4, 1941 in Atlantic City, NJ. She earned a BA in fashion design from Moore Institute of Art in Philadelphia, and a BA in education from Ohio State in Columbus, OH. She also earned an MFA from Western Connecticut State University.
Rita was a long-time art teacher at Fawn Hollow Elementary School in Monroe. Her innovative programs more than once won her accolades in Connecticut’s Celebration of Excellence program, allowing her to pass on her creative ideas to other teachers. Her Artists in Action program enabled children to teach their parents art they learned in her classes. Rita taught about great artists of history by helping the children of Fawn Hollow to set up a classroom art museum, with commentaries recorded by students informing visitors about the art works and artists represented. Rita made sure that lots of excellent children’s art frequently decorated the walls of Fawn Hollow, and she readily volunteered to do design work and art for various school programs. Rita worked with her closest friends Priscilla Bullard and Nancy Garofolo on a program to teach science to children, blending science-based “magic” tricks and art effects. She also taught computer art some summers. Rita was considered a master teacher, and she sometimes taught her methods in an apprentice program for new teachers. She taught Chinese brush painting, and other art techniques, to seniors at the Senior Center in Newtown.
In recent years Rita travelled extensively, to the Scandinavian countries and Norwegian fjords, St. Petersburg, Russia, Taillin, Estonia, Dubrovnik, Croatia, the Netherlands, Greece, France, England, Spain and Portugal, and Italy. Her favorite place was Venice. Rita loved visiting art museums all over Europe. She studied Native American art with her sister Joyce in Santa Fe, NM, and learned about brush painting while visiting Japan. Rita loved watching giant colorful balloons sailing through the skies, and finally floated with her sister over Albuquerque, NM in a hot air balloon. She was very good at fishing, from smallmouth bass and northern pike to sea trout near Amelia Island, FL. She went on extensive camping trips in the Boundary Waters wilderness in southern Ontario. Her grandchildren loved her visits because she helped them learn a variety of arts, including weaving. She was an expert quilter and seamstress. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. To leave an online condolence go to www.honanfh.com

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