Sister of Charity of Nazareth Rita Maria Coco died May 18 at Nazareth Home in Louisville. She was 88 and had been a Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 68 years.

A native of Helena, Ark., Sister Coco served as an elementary school teacher in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Maryland. In the Archdiocese of Louisville, she taught at St. Gregory School, Samuels, Ky., from 1942-45 and at St. Frances of Rome School, Louisville, from 1949-51.After receiving a master's degree in social work from the University of Louisville in 1974, she served in the Family Counseling Center in Baton Rouge, La. She founded the Grief Recovery Center in Baton Rouge, where she served as executive director and counselor from 1991 until June 2006. 

Survivors include a brother, Jesuit Brother Anthony S. Coco, of Grand Coteau, La., a sister, Sarah J. Coco of Helena, Ark.; several nieces and nephews, and sisters in the SCN congregation. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated May 23 at St. Vincent Church, Nazareth, Ky. Burial was in the Nazareth Cemetery.