Muriel F. Vita, 86, passed away on November 2, 2009, at the Haxtun Hospital Extended Care Unit. She was born on August 16, 1923 in Great Bend, Kansas. Private family services will be held.

She is survived by her daughter Pat Crowder and husband Robert of Holyoke, grandson Rob Crowder of Holyoke, grandson U. S. Army National Guard E-2 Matthew Crowder and wife Katie of Gillette, Wyoming, sister Louise Crusoe of Bartlett, Illinois and her beloved cat Baby. She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Donald A. Vita, in 2005, parents William and Esther Standard, and brothers Robert and Eugene Standard.

Muriel married Donald Vita August 26, 1955 in Bensenville, Illinois.

Prior to moving to Holyoke in Feburary of 2007, Muriel resided in Orlando and Titusville, Florida, for over 40 years. She enjoyed gardening and oil painting, and for a number of years she received numerous awards for dedicated service and countless hours of volunteering as a Pink Lady at the local hospital in Titusville. When Donald was still alive, they liked to travel around the U.S. in their camper, and she liked to accompany him to Cape Canaveral to watch the missile launches, where he was a Launch Pad Commander for numerous Gemini and Apollo space missions. She was a loving, devoted and very proud grandmother, and was anxiously anticipating the birth of her first great grandchild this coming summer.

In lieu of flowers, her family wishes that everyone who knew her would pause for a few moments and remember her sweet smile and kind heart.