Rita Dolan Sellar

Rita Dolan Sellar of Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI died peacefully at her home ?Seaweed,? at the age of 102 on December 21st, 2006. She was born in Torresdale, PA on February 24, 1904 to Clarence W. and Rosalie Brown Dolan. Rita?s grandfather, Thomas Dolan, purchased ?Seaweed? formerly owned by farmer Bailey for his family?s summer residence. Rita spent her summers at ?Seaweed? until she made it her year round residence in 1973. She was a direct descendent of the banker Alexander Brown.She attended Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA, The Fermata Girls School of Aiken, SC and graduated from Foxcroft School in Middleburg, VA class of 1922. She was the former wife Norrie Sherman Sellar of Hewlettt Long Island. Both of her sisters Rosalie Dolan and Alexandra Dolan Toland predeceased her. She is survived by her five children. She had fifteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren. She also leaves six step-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.Rita was the youngest of three girls and from an early age proved to have a spirited personality. As a young girl Rita found her passion for horses and riding. She won competitions with her favorite horse ?Sloe Gin? and was a stalwart foxhunter with hunts in Aiken, SC, Radnor and Unionville, PA, Virginia and Ireland and also played some polo. ?Tally Ho!? was her mantra, one that she readily shouted throughout her long lifetime. She would tell you that she had a fiery Irish temper, which was accompanied by a wonderful Irish sense of humor. Rita also enjoyed the ocean, being at The Beach, oil painting, lawn bowling, golf, sailing beagling, reading and hosting parties. She was proud to have been a leader for the Girl Scouts. She operated a fishing camp in Canada, Club des Monts, with her husband Norrie. Rita loved to adorn herself in aqua colored clothes. In her youth Rita played the drum with exuberance, which she took up again in her final years. Her greatest gift in life was extraordinary love and generosity towards her family and friends. Rita was the longest standing as well as oldest member of the Colony Club in New York City and Spouting Rock Beach Association in Newport. She was a member of the Clambake Club, she was a former member of the Acorn Club of Philadelphia, the Green Boundary Club and the Palmetto Golf Club of Aiken, SC, the Merion Cricket Club of Haverford, PA, the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and the Newport Country Club.The funeral service will be held at Trinity Church, Queen Anne?s Square, Newport on Saturday, January 6th at 11:00 AM.Burial will be in Trinity Cemetery in Portsmouth.Memorial donations in her name may be made to Newport Hospital or the Hospice at Visiting Nurse Services of Newport and Bristol Counties or the Robert Potter Animal Shelter in Middletown, RI.