home

Obituary and life story submitted by friends.

L

ongtime Oriental resident Rita “Renee” Dumont passed away on Friday, September 25, 2026 at the Riverpoint Crest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in New Bern, North Carolina, after a long illness. She was 84.

Born Rita Roy in Maine on April 2, 1942, she departed for South Florida as a young woman — some say on the back of a motorcycle, others co-piloting a van. (It was likely some of each). She trained to become a certified masseuse in Fort Lauderdale with tuition support from “the wiseguys”: an ever-changing group of “vacationing” (i.e., on-the-lam) East Coast mobsters. (By her own telling, many epitomized characters in films like “Goodfellas” and the popular TV series, “The Sopranos.”)

Their support of Rita’s vocation would ultimately provide her thrills on a scale beyond her wildest imaginings back in Maine.

“I always loved those guys,” she admitted. Many sought her affection — particularly after she won a Jane Fonda look-alike contest at the height of Fonda’s popular “Workout” franchise. Their regular patronage of her massage studio gave rise to notions Rita regularly refuted: “My studio was all business. The first thing they taught us was to keep things strictly professional, and I did.”

Rita ‘Reneé’ Dumont, left, at the brewery with best friend Marilyn Stern.

She did, however, date one — “until his wiseguy buddy, who was dating a friend of mine, was shot by another wiseguy, who was jealous! That’s when I knew I had to get out.” She got a passport on April 19, 1989, and a five-year French visa the next day. Thus began 25 years of extensive travel, by both air and sea.

Rita made stops across southern Europe and throughout the Caribbean. Back in Florida she had earned a PADI diving certification and at one point in her travels, she answered an ad for a boat seeking a crew. She signed on as cook which, given her limited kitchen skills, proved surprising to friends. But she mastered several dishes, notably one featuring shrimp, creamed peas and rice, which won rave reviews. On that first sail to the Caribbean, Rita not only managed the ship’s galley but made numerous dives along the way to explore the sea and inspect the vessel.

Upon arrival, Rita and the boat’s captain spent several years island-hopping. They would part amicably in 1996 in Turks and Caicos, where Rita’s dual certifications as a diver and masseuse ensured “I had work on both land and sea.” When she was not providing therapeutic massage to vacationing visitors, she donned gear to guide them on sightseeing dives.

“It is so beautiful down there. I just loved it.” She also pursued an ambitious personal diving regimen, making more than 50 dives to depths of 100 feet or greater in the several years that the T&C were her home base.

Rita eventually returned to Florida and met Richard Johns, the captain of various personal and commercial watercraft, a certified airplane pilot, and an inventor who developed and patented a non-slip deck shoe which is still in production. A native Mainer like Rita, Richard led the happy couple to Oriental. They wed in the Pamlico County courthouse in 2007 and initially lived in Buccaneer Bay, later settling in the village proper, near Lupton Park.

Rita’s love of nature’s beauty led her to pursue painting. She worked primarily in acrylic and watercolor and was a quick study. When cruising with Richard, she offered full-color “portraits” of boats to their owners and, at the suggestion of a friend, adopted the “brush name” Reneé — “because Reneé Dumont sounds more like an artist than Rita!” she laughed. The name stuck throughout her life here.

Reneé was active for many years in Oriental’s Circle 10, a group of local artists which met regularly to share techniques and to critique one another’s works. She attributed her growth as an artist largely to Marlene Sykes, a founding member of the group who mentored her early development. (Reneé’s remaining works, framed and ranging from landscapes to abstracts, will be auctioned to benefit Sound Rivers, information forthcoming.)

Beyond painting and sailing, Reneé was a regular for many years at Village Health for AquaAerobics, a practice she also led for a time at the Minnesott Country Club pool. She often volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, and was an avid mahjong, Rummikub, and cribbage player.

Reneé enjoyed many friendships here, including with several couples she and Richard would join for pot-luck dinners which became overnight sails on the Neuse, with the various crafts’ club burgees flying. Richard passed away at home in 2018. He was 95.

In her later years, Reneé was often seen walking throughout the village, or enjoying music, games, and raising a glass at New Village Brewery with friends. Her closest, Marilyn Stern, along with Marilyn’s daughter Lili and granddaughter Ehren, were especially dear to her.

A commemoration of life is being planned. Donations in Reneé’s name, benefitting Sound Rivers, may be made at soundrivers.org.

Posted Tuesday November 10, 2026 by Allison DeWeese