Leona Ruth Rieck

Warner: Services for Leona Ruth Rieck, 84, Warner, are 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 4, 2010, in St. John Lutheran Church at Warner. Pastor Joanne Nagele will officiate. Burial will be in the Warner Township Cemetery. Leona died Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, at Bethesda Home of Aberdeen.

Visitation will be 2-4 p.m. Sunday, with a prayer service at 4 p.m. at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St., Aberdeen, and one hour prior to the service at the church.

Leona Ruth Lowitz was born April 1, 1925, in Aberdeen, S.D., to John and Bertha (Papke) Lowitz. She attended Aberdeen Public Schools and then moved near Warner, S.D. She graduated from Warner High School. She married Raymond R. Rieck on Oct. 2, 1943, at Ortonville, Minn. They made their home on several farms in the Mansfield and Warner areas. Leona and Ray moved into Warner in 1950, where they lived until they moved to Aberdeen in 1995. They celebrated 54 wonderful years together. Ray passed away in 1997 and their son, Randy, passed away in 2003.

After moving from Warner, Leona lived at the Homestead and then Bethesda.

She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church of Warner. She belonged to many Bible study groups and held many offices within the church and community. She was also a Sunday school teacher and directed the junior choir and Mission Band for many years. She was a member of the senior choir and had a love of music. Leona worked at Malchows and then Tempo in Aberdeen.

She was a past member of the Warner Area Senior Citizens, a past officer of the PTA and a charter member of the Warner Young Mother's Club and the Rieck-Morgan Legion Auxiliary.

She was a member of several extension clubs, including the Mansfield Busy Bees and the Warner Merry Workers. She also was a 4-H leader.

Honorary Pallbearers will be LaVanche Van Stone, Arleen Jarvis, Larry Braun and Chuck Seaman.

Pallbearers will be her grandchildren: Brent (Kristina) Antonen, of Sioux Falls, Nathan (Lauren) Antonen, of Arlington, Summer Wendell, of Pierre, Stefan Rieck, of Pierre, Josh Rieck, of Sioux Falls, Kanya Rieck, of Rapid City, Lindsey Rieck, of Denver, Colo., Megan Rieck, of Warner, Stephanie Rieck, of Aberdeen and Derek Rieck, of Warner.

Ushers will be Doug Rogers, Dave Jarvis, Roger O. Roth and Brian Kendall.

Grateful for having shared Leona's life are one daughter, Joan (Marv) Antonen, of Arlington, S.D.; two sons, John (Deb) Rieck, of Warner, S.D., Richard (Kathy) Rieck, of Rapid City, S.D.; and one daughter-in-law, Lynette Rieck, of Warner; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her son, three sisters and six brothers.

spitzerfuneralhome.com