Rita (Cloutier) Calamari died on October 6, 2026 in Lynnfield. She was 90.
She was born on February 3, 1936 in Berlin, N.H., the daughter of Octave and Marion (LeClerc) Cloutier, graduated from Notre Dame High School and earned an English degree at Rivier College. At Fordham University Law School she met Robert Calamari; they married in 1960, their son Robert Jr. was born in 1961, and she finished her law degree at the University of Maine before the two practiced together in Lancaster, N.H. for many years. She was a 45-year member of the New Hampshire Bar Association and an advocate for women’s issues. In retirement in Durham, N.H. she earned a master’s degree in poetry from the University of New Hampshire; poetry, travel and entertaining were the pleasures of those years, along with the Sister Madeleine of Jesus distinguished alumni award from Rivier. After Bob’s death in 2019, which ended 58 years of marriage, she moved to Lynnfield to be near her son.
She leaves her son, Robert Jr., his wife Brenda and her granddaughter, Marissa; her sisters, Janet Labbe and her husband Lawrence of South Berwick, Maine, and Paulette Cloutier of Pembroke, N.H.; and several nieces and nephews. Her sister Priscilla Cloutier died before her.
There are no visiting hours. A Mass of Christian Burial is Saturday, October 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas More Church in Durham, N.H., with burial beside her husband at Durham Cemetery under a stone that reads “Together Forever.” Arrangements are by the Kent and Pelczar Funeral Home. The family suggests donations to Rivier University, 42 South Main Street, Nashua, NH 03060.
Compiled from information published by Lynnfield, MA. Photograph courtesy of the family via Lynnfield, MA. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
