Rita Greene-Blardo (nee Banks), left us far too early on January 20, 2023 at the age of 74.   She passed away peacefully at the Pathways Inpatient Hospice Care Center after a long battle with cancer.

Rita was born April 20, 1948, in Gary, IN to Denver and Margaret Banks. The eldest of three girls, Rita was a role model for her sisters throughout their childhood. She graduated from Lew Wallace High School in 1966. Following high school, Rita married and moved to Chicago. Ever a supporter of equality, Rita marched with Martin Luther King Jr. during the volatile civil rights movement in Chicago. After moving to Nederland, CO, at the age of 22 she adopted a baby girl. Rita relocated to Wisconsin where she received an Associate Degree in Veterinary Technology from the University of Wisconsin subsequently working in the dairy herd business.

Rita moved from Wisconsin to Fort Collins, CO with her daughter in 1984 and lived there for the remainder of her 39 years. It was in Fort Collins where she changed her career by entering the tourism industry with Centennial Tours and then was hired at the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau where she became Executive Director. She ended her career as the Manager of Travel Trade Marketing at the Wyoming Office of Tourism. Rita traveled extensively throughout Europe promoting Wyoming and made many friends around the world through her work. She also dedicated herself to organizing the “Go for the Greene” golf tournament to raise money for Hospice in memory of her late husband Robert Greene.

She married her husband Doug Blardo in 2001, and was very proud of her husband’s pizzeria, Positano’s in mid Fort Collins. In retirement, she spent a quiet life with her husband enjoying the beauty of North Fort Collins, traveling for pleasure, and spending time with her friends and family. Rita was proceeded in death by her parents, brother Denver C. Banks, and sister Billie Joyce Myers Whitmer. Rita is survived by her husband Douglas Blardo, daughter Leah (James) Greer, and sisters Candis Gerfin (Thomas) of Grayslake, IL, Della Hutton of Valparaiso, IN, many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.