Rita Anne Mcbrayer

Rita Anne McBrayer, 68, of Silver Spring, Maryland died September 18, 2015 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Born in Shelby, NC, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Charles H. McBrayer and Elizabeth Ricardi McBrayer. Ms. McBrayer attended Wake Forest University and graduated from American University with a degree in International Studies. She worked in Washington, DC for the National Planning Associates as a research assistant. Ms. McBrayer later moved to Hawaii as a civil rights worker for the Native Hawaiians. She was a writer of poems and novels and was currently working on another novel. Ms. McBrayer was an astrologist and an animal rights activist. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a cousin, John H. McBrayer, Jr. Ms. McBrayer is survived by cousins Beth McBrayer Krumwiede and her husband Dave of Abbeville, SC; Jim McBrayer, of Shelby, NC; JoAnne McBrayer of New Braunfel, TX; extended family and friends; and longtime companion, Tracy Kainalu Dudoit whom she met in Molokai, Hawaii. Memorials, in memory of Ms. McBrayer, may be sent to Cleveland County Humane Society, PO Box 2432, Shelby, NC 28151. A message of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com.