Rita Jean (Schachtner) Olson

Olson, Rita (Schachtner) Age 80, passed away peacefully January 3, 2017, surrounded by loving family. Rita had a very full life. While she got off to a rough start, she grew to become a loved and respected member of the community. Starting life as Rita Schachtner, in her teens she had a short marriage to Kenneth Morrow of less than 2 years. After divorcing Kenneth, Rita married Daniel Miller of Lake City, IA, helping to work a small dairy farm, and was widowed in 1968. After his death, Rita struggled to raise her children on her own. During this time, Rita worked as a nurse, to support her family and continued her education in order to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. Then she met Earl Olson and was married in 1972. After many happy hears with Earl (Moon) where she learned to manage a resort, Rita was again widowed in 1989. Upon his death, she turned her energy to helping the mentally disabled. After many years of service, she retired, but it did not stop her contributions to make the world a better place. She was very active in her church, helping to raise funds, participated in bible study groups, and supported the church any way she could. Her health challenges brought her to two groups with whom she was also very active. First was a self-help weight loss group, TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), where she made many friends and was active in supporting the local chapter. She also found aqua aerobics classes to be beneficial, and became active with a group of others, which became known as the Aqua Bells. The deep friendships that came about from these groups carried into other social activities, including annual getaways, weekly domino games and almost daily lunch gatherings. Her health was a challenge most of her life. In addition to struggling with weight, she was in a very serious car accident in her early 20’s that resulted in a broken vertebrae in her neck that was inoperable and whiplash. She had a both knees replaced in her 50’s, struggled with heart problems, back surgery, and several health issues, including diabetes. Rita was preceded in death by her parents and many brothers and sisters. She was survived by her children including her daughter, Danette Johnson, step children John and Bill Olson, their spouses, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as extended family. Memorial Service Friday, January 13th, 2017 at 11 AM with visitation one hour prior at Peace Lutheran Church, 20 Northdale Blvd; Coon Rapids MN.

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Rita Jean (Schachtner) Olson

January 3, 2017

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