City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Rita Robinson Forrest

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 91.
Died 10/05/2024.

Rita Robinson Forrest
Rita Alice Forrest, age 91, of Raleigh, NC died on October 5, 2024 in Raleigh following a year of decreasing health.

Rita was born on Friday, September 22, 1933. She was the first of five children born to Albert Thomas Robinson and Gladys Mary Massey of Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.

Rita was an energetic and active young lady, studying business accounting and being active in community dance and theater.

She married an American serviceman, Lee Irvin Forrest, in 1952 and became a homemaker. They had three children, Scott Robin Forrest of Wilmington, NC, Terry Lee Forrest of Raleigh, and Danny Lee Forrest, deceased.

After the illness of her husband, Rita relocated to the United States of America. It was her hope that this would provide better opportunities for her children. The family moved several times before settling in Mt. Airy, NC. Rita remained in Mt. Airy until 1982 when she relocated to Wilmington, NC to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Following her graduation, she moved to Raleigh, NC where she worked at College Foundation, Inc. where she remained until her retirement.

Rita was a voracious reader, often consuming 2-3 novels each week. She was skilled at knitting and crocheting. She was an avid NC State Wolfpack fan and was known to have produced countless sweaters, afghans and other items while she watched her beloved Wolfpack on television. She was an active member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church where she had many close friends.

She is survived by her sister, Loretta Chapman of Swindon, Wiltshire, UK, her two sons, seven grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by Sophie, her beloved Maltipoo, who was her constant and inseparable companion during the last elven years of her life.

Funeral services will be held at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Raleigh, NC at 3 PM Sunday, October 20th. A reception will be held at the church following the service.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations