Rita Claire Kallaher Krog

October 11, 1938 - May 27, 2020

Rita Claire (Kallaher) Krog, 81, died of heart failure on May 27, 2020. Rita Claire was born on October 11, 1938 to Lauriene (Baker) and Matthias Paul Kallaher in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Holy Names Grade School and graduated from Sacred Heart High School. For one year, she attended Sienna College. It was during that time that she went on a blind date with Gregory Charles Krog and fell in love. She missed her finals to go on a date with him–swimming, an activity she didn’t even enjoy–and left school. She and Greg married on June 14, 1958. Rita Claire often joked that she started out majoring in Music, but after that blind date she “majored in Greg.” Rita Claire and Greg received from their own parents the immeasurable treasure of their Catholic faith. Their mutual faith led them to attend Daily Mass, usually at 6:15 a.m., which Rita Claire continued after Greg's death in 2001. This faith also led her to treat every person who crossed her threshold, or indeed her path, as if he were Christ. She was an active member of the community at Holy Rosary Church and School, particularly in the altar society and the Mothers’ Club, and later at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She and Greg, both Cursillistas, served as catechists in the RCIA program, sponsoring many catechumens. From the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, Rita Claire worked as housekeeper for Father Milton Guthrie at Holy Rosary and OLPH. She used her considerable cooking skills to make many of Fr. Guthrie’s mother’s favorite recipes. She helped to establish the rose gardens at both parishes and also put her green thumb to work growing blueberries and figs, which she turned into jellies and preserves coveted by the entire family. When Father Guthrie initiated the sunrise Easter Mass at Calvary Cemetery her famous sweet rolls and coffee cakes highlighted the breakfast provided the congregation. Recently, she enjoyed being a member of the Fun Group at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with many of her friends. She was an accomplished organist and pianist, and she liked music, (especially opera), dogs, gardening, and feeding the songbirds in her yard. Some of her happiest times, however, were those she was able to spend with her family, especially her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Rita Claire was preceded in death by her husband, Gregory Charles Krog, Sr.; her sister, Katherine Kallaher Fisher; and her grandson, Gabriel Charles Krog. She is survived by: her sister, Janice Kallaher Stamey (Harold); her seven children: Gregory Charles Krog, Jr. (Jeannie), James Matthias Krog (Trish), Michael Patrick Krog (Sia), Kathleen Lauriene Krog Rodgers (Steven), Robert Joseph Krog (Ana), Kenneth Andrew Krog (Jennifer), and MaryElaine Claire Krog Angel (Randy), and their 24 children and 8 grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and cousins, all of whom she loved dearly and embraced as her own, and to whom she never missed sending birthday cards. She was a beautiful faith-filled woman who did many small things with great love and who will be missed very much by very many.