Rita M. (Jasper) Schwendinger 1925-2010

SCHWENDINGER, ANSTOETTER, JASPER, HEID, KLEIN, DOMEYER, SMITH, HOEGER

Posted By: cheryl Locher moonen (email)
Date: 10/31/2019 at 13:53:36

Telegraph Herald: Web Edition Articles (Dubuque, IA) - Thursday, September 16, 2010

PLACID, Iowa -- Rita M. Schwendinger, 85, of Dubuque, formerly of Sunset Park Place, Dubuque, and Farley, died at 4 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010, at Bethany Home, Dubuque.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17, at St. John's Catholic Church, Placid, with the Rev Dennis Cain officiating. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery, Placid. Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Reiff Funeral Home, Farley, where there will be a wake service at 4 p.m. Friends also may call after 9:30 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

She was born on March 28, 1925, in Dyersville, daughter of Tony and Clara (Anstoetter) Jasper. She received her education in the St. Joseph's School in Farley.

She married Gerald Schwendinger on May 21, 1947, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Farley; he preceded her in death on Jan. 19, 2003. The couple farmed in the Placid area for most of their lifetime.

She was a member of St. John's Parish, Placid, and a member of its Altar and Rosary society. Her Catholic faith was very important to her throughout her life. She was also a member of the Dubuque County Farm Bureau Women's Auxiliary, for which she was named Mother of the Year in 1997.

Rita treasured time with family and especially liked having all the kids together. She was a kind and gentle mother of seven, grandmother to 20 and great-grandmother to nine, with another one on the way. She also greatly enjoyed spending time with her brothers and sisters and their families.

Rita's favorite pastimes included cooking and sewing. She made the best homemade breads and pies and was a master quilter. She enjoyed watching the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Chicago Cubs, and "Wheel of Fortune" -- her "must see" TV. She will be fondly remembered for her wonderful smile, caring ways and pleasant demeanor.

Surviving are three daughters, Elaine (Herb) Heid, of Dubuque, Mary (Kevin) Klein, of North Liberty, and Karen (Rick) Domeyer, of Petersburg; four sons, John (Janet) Schwendinger, of Dubuque, Bill (Lois) Schwendinger, of Earlville, Pat (Julie) Schwendinger, of Dubuque, and Don Schwendinger, of Cascade; 20 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three sisters, Sr. Mary Karen Jasper, P.B.V.M., of Dubuque, Lois (Joe) Hoeger, of Dyersville, and Mary Smith, of Dubuque;Rita M. Schwendinger sisters-in-law, Betty Jasper, of Farley, Lois Jasper, of Peosta, and Irma Schwendinger, of Earlville.

She also was preceded in death by her parents; two daughters in infancy, Elaine and Janet; two sons in infancy, Joseph and James; three brothers, John Jasper, Roy Jasper and Jim Jasper; and a sister, Sr. Mary Philip Jasper, P.B.V.M.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.reifffuneralhomeinc.com.

The family would like to thank Sunset Park Place and Bethany Home for their loving and respectful care to our mother and grandmother over the last 10 years. We also would like to thank Hospice of Dubuque and the many physicians and nurses who cared for Rita through the years for their professional and conscientious care.