Rita Bracht Mayrant

Rita Bracht Mayrant, 87, of Ephrata, Washington, died peacefully at her home on Friday, January 11, 2019. Enid Rita Wiseman was born on August 12, 1931 at Ellensburg, Washington to Oscar and Elizabeth (Vogler) Wiseman. Rita grew up on a small farm in Springdale, Washington until her mid-teens when she moved to Oakesdale to work as a nanny for a family in the Palouse. She then attended nursing school at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, graduating as a registered nurse. While attending a dance in Oakesdale, she met her future husband, Clayton Bracht, and they were married in May 1953. In 1956, they moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where Rita worked as an R.N. at St. Joseph’s Hospital, as an industrial nurse at Potlatch Forest Inc., and as a public health nurse with the Idaho North Central District, truly loving her service to the people of the Nez Perce Tribe at Lapwai. Together, Rita and Clayton had five children: Gary, Randy, Bob, Gayle, and an infant son who died shortly after childbirth. In 1962-63, Rita worked as a registered nurse in Tacoma, then returned to Lewiston until 1968 when she moved with her children to Ephrata. In 1969, Rita married Neil Mayrant, a deputy with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, and she continued her lifelong love of nursing and caring for others at McKay Hospital in Soap Lake, at Quincy Valley Hospital, and as a school nurse with the Ephrata School District until her retirement in 1995. Compassionate, independent, and forever young-at-heart, Nurse Rita loved life, loved people, and loved to travel. She roamed Western byways from Arizona to Alaska. During her energetic life, she was a wonderful companion, gossip, and wine drinker; a fiercely competitive bowler, a Powder Puff stock car racer, an avid backcountry horse rider and explorer, a crossword puzzle aficionado, and a rodeo fanatic. Las Vegas and the NFR will be a bit dimmer without all her Western bling. Rita had the neatest cursive handwriting on the planet. She was a parish nurse with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, a longtime EMT instructor, a classroom reading tutor with Ephrata schools, and a faithful member and officer with the Grant County Cattle Women, Grant County Historical Society, and the Ephrata American Legion Unit 28 Auxiliary. Rita was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Genevieve Storer of Colville, Washington; husbands Clayton Bracht and Neil Mayrant; son Baby Boy Bracht and stepson Jimmy Mayrant. She is survived by her brother, Ted (Sue) Wiseman of Tacoma; sons Gary (Dominique) Bracht and Randy (Joanne) Bracht of Ephrata and Bob (Dana) Bracht of Seattle; daughter Gayle (Tim) Hughes of Snohomish; grandchildren Aaron (Alicia) Bracht, Danielle (Casey) Langley, Jens Bracht, Erik Bracht, Clayton Bracht, Kellie Bracht, Austin Hughes, Max Hughes; great-grandsons Connor and Greyson Langley; numerous nieces and nephews; and her special friend and partner, Larry McCarty of Soap Lake. A memorial service is planned on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at 11 a.m. at the Community Church of Ephrata, 54 K St. S.E. In lieu of flowers, donations in Rita’s name may be made to the Grant County Historical Society, P.O. Box 1141, Ephrata, WA 98823 or Ephrata American Legion Unit 28 Auxiliary, P.O. Box 904, Ephrata, WA 98823. Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at www.nicolesfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the care of Nicoles Funeral Home of Ephrata, Wash.

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Rita Bracht Mayrant

August 12, 1931 - January 11, 2019