Rita Ann Ertle D'Elia, 85 years old, died April 3 at Grand Islander Nursing Home in Middletown, Rhode Island. A Trumbull resident for many years, Rita grew up in the east end of Bridgeport, attended Old Lincoln School and graduated Harding High School in 1943. Early on she took secretarial courses and worked in the traffic departments of WOR Radio in Manhattan and WICC Radio, Bridgeport. It was WICC where she met her husband, the late Paul N. D'Elia Jr., and the two became business partners in D'Elia Travel Services, a chain of travel agencies established by Mr. D'Elia's grandfather in 1902.  As the manager, Rita "held down the fort" at Stratfield Travel, in the Stratfield Hotel and later, Trumbull Travel in the Trumbull Center. For more than 30 years as a travel agent, the spunky Mrs. D'Elia booked corporate trips and made vacation dreams come true for hundreds of clients in the greater Bridgeport area. On her watch, she ticketed everything from transatlantic crossings to modern day cruises, trains to 747's, and witnessed the deregulation of the airline industry. After the agencies sold, Rita became a secretary at City Trust bank, before returning to her travel roots as an outside agent for both Keeley Travel and Crown Travel in Bridgeport. She earned her CTC designation, "a certified travel counselor" and was a part-time travel teacher at Housatonic Community College. Rita is the daughter of the late Ann Sullivan Ertle and late Charles Ertle Sr. of Stratford. She is survived by her children, Paul C. D'Elia III, of Richmond, VA, Daniel R. D'Elia of Tiverton, Rhode Island, and Valarie A. D'Elia of New York City, a brother, Charles R. Ertle Jr. of Stratford and a sister, Margaret Poulsen of Fairfield. She has three grandchildren, Lauren Furer of  Raleigh, North Carolina, Nancy D'Elia Monroe of  Woodstock, Georgia and Paul Emmet D'Elia IV of Morehead City, NC, two great grandchildren, Hayley Furer of Raleigh and Maxwell Monroe of Woodstock, GA. She leaves behind several beloved cousins, sisters-and-brothers in law, nieces and nephews as well as a collection of adored and loving grand-dogs. As an avid pet lover, you may choose to make contributions in her name to the ASPCA. Funeral services will be held Friday at 9:15 am from the Redgate – Hennessy Funeral Home, Main Street and Gorham Place, Trumbull and at 10:00 am in St. Andrew Church with a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow in St. Michael's Cemetery, Stratford. Friends may call Thursday 4:00 – 8:00 pm. To send online condolences please visit www.redgatehennessy.com