DeRita

Michael DeRita, 70, of Plano, Texas, formerly of Butler, passed away Sunday, Sept. 15, due to complications of Parkinson's disease at his home in Plano.

Born on Aug. 12, 1943, in Butler, he was the son of Louis and Stella DeRita.

Michael was a graduate of Moniteau High School, Class of 1961. He graduated from Grove City College in 1965.

He entered the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. The Air Force assigned him to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where he rose to the rank of captain and received an honorable discharge in 1969.

He achieved his master's degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

From the 1970s to the late 1990s, he worked as a salesman for Bekins Van Lines and United Van Lines. During the late 1990s, he learned to ballroom dance and was invited by multiple cruise lines to join their crews as a dance host. He danced his way around the world before receiving his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2001.

Michael is survived by two sons, Kevin DeRita and his wife, Pamela, of Texas and Darin DeRita and his wife, Fawn, of Texas; two granddaughters, Isabella DeRita and Dara DeRita; his father, Louis DeRita of Butler; his brother, Joseph DeRita of Fort Wayne, Ind., and his sister, Louise Foehringer and her husband, George, of Meridian.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Stella DeRita.

DERITA — There will be no visitation for Michael DeRita, who passed away Sunday, Sept. 15.A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at the St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church, 432 Center Ave., Butler at 10 a.m. Saturday.Burial will follow in St. Michael's Cemetery.Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the care of the Martin Funeral Home, INC., 429 Center Ave., Butler.Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation at www.michaeljfox.org.For more information, go to www.martinfh.net.