Rita Quijas Navarro

Funeral services and Mass of Christian Burial for Rita Quijas Navarro, 101, of Davenport, will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 10, 2022 at Holy Family Catholic Church, Davenport. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. The Mass will be livestreamed by visiting Holy Family Livestream Visitation will be Friday from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, Davenport.  Mrs. Navarro passed away Thursday, September 1, 2022.

Rita Quijas was born to Marianna Contreras Quijas and Victoriano Quijas in Omaha, on Jan. 12, 1921. Rita’s family moved to Davenport shortly after she was born. Rita grew up in Cook’s Point and attended Davenport Schools until she had to quit to get a job to help support her family during the Great Depression.

She met the love of her life, Anthony (Tony) Navarro and they were married September 5, 1942, a marriage of 68 years, until Tony’s passing in 2010. Together they raised their four children. Rita was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Rita was known for her exceptional cooking skills. She, along with her husband, developed the recipe for Navarro Taco Meat (still available at TPC Cash and Carry) and was president of Navarro Foods until her passing. She loved to garden and do crafts. She crocheted blankets to be distributed through Holy Family Church. She continued to support the Church through her donation of taco meat for its annual fundraiser. She enjoyed watching almost any kind of sports and was a familiar face in the crowd of many Assumption High School events. Rita was also known to people as the manager of Devitt’s Junior Boot Shop, the store that many of a certain age will remember was the place to shop for quality children’s shoes. After retiring from there, Rita put her sales skills into the many yard sales she held. Her children were constantly amazed how she always had things to sell that they had never seen before. Rita enjoyed meeting people through her sales and the art of negotiating the price.

Rita valued education and worked tirelessly to raise money as a member of the Mexican-American Organization Scholarship Committee, who awarded thousands of dollars in book grants. Along with her volunteer work with the Mexican-American Organization, Rita gave generously to the Cancer Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and Alzheimer’s Association.

Rita was a kind and thoughtful person and as the last of the original Quijas family, she will be missed by her family and friends.

Rita is survived by her children (chulos); Tony (Jean) Navarro, Victoria Navarro (Bob Heimer), Ray (Mary) Navarro, and Ruby Navarro. Grandchildren: Jenny and Chris Strawn, Betsy and Brian Johnson, Anne and Jason Haugen, Elle and Tim Bruno, Nate and Nikki Frese, Nick Navarro, Michael and Cassie Navarro, Jacob Navarro, Elise Navarro, Marissa Villarreal, Steven Villarreal. Great-grandchildren; Molly, Abby, Ava, Jack, Michael, George, Zoa, Lulu, Teddy, Elliot, Owen, and Jonah.

The family wants to thank the angels at Bickford, Compassus and St. Croix Hospices and Dr. Karl Treiber and Dr. April Lanning for their care and love. Memorials may be made to Assumption High School or The Alzheimer’s Association.

Vaya Con Dios, Rita.