Mrs. Rita Tubalkain

Rita Tubalkain, 89, died February 12th at Stratford Commons in Solon, Ohio. She was born on February 24, 1922, in Tallinn Estonia, to Konstantin and Marie Dutchinsky.

She was a World War II refugee, fleeing from Estonia in 1944 to Sweden. Leaving home at 22, she did not return til after Estonia regained its independence. She was away for over 50 years. Her husband Karl fled at the same time on a different boat, and they were re-united in a Swedish refugee camp. In 1951, they immigrated to Montreal, Canada, with their young sons, Toomas and Karl. In 1955, they moved to Lakewood, Ohio where she lived until 2009, when she moved to Stratford Commons Assisted Living and Nursing facility in Glenwillow, Ohio. She was married 47 years to her husband Karl, who died in 1989.

Rita studied nursing in Lakewood (graduating in 1961), and worked as a Practical Nurse at Lakewood Hospital and St. John's Hospital in Cleveland. She was a member of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.

She was an avid reader, and enjoyed needle-work and making traditional Estonian mittens. She was a founding member of the Estonian Cultural Garden, past president of the Embroiderer's Guild of Greater Cleveland, and an active member of the local Estonian Community. Rita worked with Meals on Wheels as a volunteer for about 15 years.

Family members include her son Karl and his wife Anda, of Hampstead, NH, and her son Toomas and his wife Paula, of Solon, Ohio, and her step grand-children, Cassie Currutt-Weisend and Brian Weisend, and her step great-grandson Aiden Currutt-Weisend. She was pre-deceased by her husband Karl and her sister Ira.

The funeral service will be on March 10th, with visiting hours 10:00AM-noon and a service at noon at McGorray-Hanna Funeral Home, 14133 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Estonian Cultural Garden Federation, c/o Toomas Tubalkain, 37145 Bainbridge Rd., Solon, Ohio 44139.