But we are glad to know the Hampton Roads Community Foundation brought her peace and happiness. In 2013 she entrusted us with forever awarding scholarships in the memory of her beloved son Tommy.
Tommy passed away in 1986 at age 17 at the start of his senior year at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. The Tommy Horvatic Memorial Scholarship Fund at the community foundation continues the work Rita and her late husband Tom started the year after Tommy passed away -- awarding scholarships in his name to students at his alma mater. We appreciate memorial gifts for Rita coming to Tommy's fund to help more students.
Here is a short 2013 video about Tommy that features his mom and sister.
(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $195 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )
