Raynette Eitel Obituary

Eitel
Raynette Forister
Eitel
April 9, 1937
September 16, 2022

Born in El Paso, Texas, Raynette Eitel spent her early years living in New Mexico, Arizona, and Los Angeles. While attending college in New Mexico, she met and married Paul Forister. The couple settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they raised three daughters. Raynette received degrees from Colorado College and the University of Colorado and had a long career in School District 11, first as a teacher and then a guidance counselor.
Having been widowed in 1977, Raynette later married Jim Eitel, a fellow educator, and a great love of her life. They traveled the country for years in an RV, living briefly in Florida before settling in Sun City Summerlin, Las Vegas.
Raynette may have been a wife, mother, and teacher, but as she said, she was "always a poet." She found inspiration in the desert landscapes where she lived, her travels to coastal locations around the world, and in her faith. Her poetry was published in a variety of literary magazines, newspapers, and eventually in five collections of her own works. Most notably, Raynette's poetry following 9/11 was included in the anthology 9/11, The Day America Cried. In her later years, she continued to write and give poetry workshops and in 2011 was awarded the title National Senior Poet Laureate. Her many friends around the country eagerly anticipated her annual Christmas poem, a tradition of more than 50 years.
Raynette was a member of the Eastern Star, PEO, and even had a much-loved stint in a tap-dancing troupe in Sun City Summerlin. She was always active in her church wherever she lived.
Raynette was a wonderful cook and loved entertaining her friends. She was interested in learning about people; if you sat next to her on a plane, she'd soon have your life story. She was known throughout her life for her warm, engaging smile. Most of all, she loved her family.
Raynette inspired in her daughters and grandchildren a lifelong love of words. They all enjoyed poems she wrote for special milestones in their lives. She is survived by her daughters Risa (Mike) Biggar, Shaunna (Kyle) Howat, and Krissa (Matt) Ferguson, as well as seven grandchildren: Tyler (Clarisse) Howat, Kenna (Chris) Felix, Daniel (Rachel) Howat, Kelsey and Matt Biggar, and Owen and Wyatt Ferguson. Raynette was also the great-grandmother to three boys.
The family would like to thank the loving staff of Hearthstone at Murray Hill/Anna's Place in Beaverton, Oregon, for their kindness to Raynette in her final years. In lieu of flowers, donations in Raynette's memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
No services are planned. Whenever you see the up-stretched arms of a saguaro, the crashing of ocean waves, or aspen leaves turning golden, think of Raynette, who loved them all.
Bury Me With Chocolates, by Raynette Eitel
Bury me with chocolates,
The kind I love so well.
Send dark and bitter candy wreaths
With leaves of caramel.
Chocolate chip tears upon my cheeks,
White chocolate pillows filled with creams
To soothe me in my final sleep
And sweeten all my heavenly dreams.
Place one lone lovely chocolate rose
With petals curling in my hand.
Heap gold foil coins in random piles
Egyptian-like, and oh so grand.
Please do not toast me with champagne,
A rich hot chocolate will do,
Laced with a touch of cinnamon
And then perhaps marshmallows too.
But if you plan a conflagration
To send me warmly to my rest,
Do not forget I've always loved
A sticky, hot fudge Sundae best.