Ritta L. Sollis

Ritta Lillian Sollis was born on May 13, 1924 in Jameston, Idaho to Lewis A. and Ruth Ross Cox of Shelley.  She was born into a house that had no plumbing or electricity but had lots of love.   Soon the family had a more modern home while her father prospered and continued farming in the Jameston area while Ritta began to grow.  Later she was joined by her beloved sister Nell.  The two girls became great friends as they blessed the home of their parents.

When Ritta became older she attended the Jameston School where she excelled.  When she was in the 6th grade she was told she would be moving on to the 8th grade.  Ritta had chores on the farm.  She churned the milk, milked the cow and could guide a horse to pull a hay rack over forty acres, then clean up later, and go out socially.  She completed high school from Shelley then moved on to Pasadena Jr. College.  These days were cut short with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  After returning home to Idaho she decided to attend the LDS Business School in Salt Lake City.  Upon graduation she was hired by National Biscuit Corp. As her boss moved up the corporate ladder, he asked her to advance with him.  He later became the President of the company.  She had other things in mind as she had met the love of her life, Paul Sollis from Salt Lake and they had recently married.  They were married for 63 years.

Following the war the young couple moved to the farm.  They loved their life there but after several years of bad potato prices, Paul found work with Bechtel Corp out of Salt Lake and the world's largest construction company at that time.   With their two children, Bob and Jackie, the family later transferred to Phoinex and Yuma, Arizona and later Compton, California.  After 10 years they decided to leave Bechtel and to look for work in Idaho.  Paul was sure he would and eventually found work at the NRTS, now the INL.   The couple was thrilled with this move and Paul worked with site work for almost 20 years.  As Mom rejoiced, she never looked back, and was forever grateful for their good fortune to be back in Idaho and to be close to parents and many others from the area.  She was always a devoted homemaker, wife and mother. She was a shining star to her family and many others through her rich and rewarding life.

She is survived by her two children, 5 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren

Funeral services will be held 11:00 A.M. Saturday, December 22, 2012 at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 West Oak, in Shelley. The family will meet with friends Friday evening from 7:00 till 8:30 P.M. and Saturday from 9:30 till 10:40 A.M. at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Taylor Cemetery.