Rita Ann (Frye) Lindgren, 05 Dec 1942 - 10 Jul 2022

LINGREN, FRYE, MATRISE, GRANT, GUIMOND BROOKS

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 7/22/2022 at 14:38:38

Rita Ann Lindgren, 79, of Amana, formerly of Cedar Rapids, was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 10, 2022. Celebration of Life Services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, July 16th at The Cowboy Church in Walford by Pastor Carol Slaton. Burial will follow at the Czech National Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 P.M. Friday at Papich-Kuba Funeral Home East, 1228 2nd Street S.E., Cedar Rapids and after noon Saturday at the church.

Rita was born December 5, 1942 in Glendale, California. She met and fell in love with the entertaining charm of John A. Lindgren in Omaha, Nebraska and they were married on June 18, 1966 in Springfield, South Dakota. They moved and made Cedar Rapids home after John was transferred there on business. Left to cherish her memory are her two children, Susan Matrise and John B. (Kimberly) Lindgren; siblings, Kay Grant, Judy Guimond, Lynn (Larry) Brooks, Craig (Rhonda) Frye and Denis (Barb, deceased) Frye; 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandsons.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Nadine and Herb Frye and husband, John.

Rita was a pioneer for women in the field of technical engineering. She worked at Rockwell Goss until she made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her children. Once her children were grown and following the loss of John, Rita started her own cleaning business. She was a hard worker and was always working on a project. Her hobbies included traveling with her family, playing cards with her grandchildren, reading all the books she could get her hands on, and going to a good garage sale. Anyone that knew Rita knows she was incredibly intelligent and had a vast knowledge of plants and herbs.

Rita also had a big heart to rescue animals in need. It didn’t matter how big or small. There are countless memories of her rushing an injured bird or motherless animal to a vet or friend that had expertise in that area. Most of the pets she adopted were from the Cedar Valley Humane Society and were treated as family.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up in her name with donations going to the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

Published in The Gazette on July 14, 2022.