Renee Ann Ratanas Iber

Iber, Renee Ann Ratanas We celebrate the life and mourn the untimely loss of our beloved Renee. Her determined struggle with cancer brought us precious time with her over the past eight months. We thank her for this heroic effort to stay with us. Renee had a balance of loveliness and a tough determination to champion important core values. She was deeply committed to her role as loving mom for her children Alex and Stephanie Ratanas and her stepchildren Katy and Carlos Iber and to enabling their happiness and growth. Renee has provided an enduring beacon of love and direction for her children. She has helped to provide a better future to many young women in our community. Her joy of life and caring companionship will be deeply missed by her husband Con Iber. Renee was 51 years old and was raised in rural Brooklyn Park by her parents Gerry and Ed Forystek and centered in age amongst her 10 siblings Ruth, Bruce, Wesley, Niles, Michelle, Vincent, Tony, Roger, Martine, and Nathan. She attended Park Center High School where she was as an accomplished gymnast. Renee graduated in Fine Arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1980. For four years she was a clothing designer for women and children in Minneapolis and New York before starting her family in Minneapolis. In 2003, she started a second career following completion of masters of social work from the University of St. Thomas and subsequently practiced as a licensed social worker serving children in Hennepin County and surrounding areas in Children's Mental Health and at Washburn Center for Children. Renee worked on the front line facilitating grief support groups and enabling quality of life for patients with serious mental illness. Her extreme and enduring dedication to adolescent girls in difficult situations created new starts with hopeful futures - we will continue to feel her loving hand in our community. Visitation wakes will be held at Wasburn-McReavy Edina Chapel from 5-8 pm Monday, August 31st at 5000 West 50th and Highway 100 and Annunciation Church 10-11 am Tuesday, September 1st at 509 W. 54th St., Minneapolis. The funeral will be at 11 am Tuesday at Annunciation following visitation. The family wishes to thank the Hennepin County Medical Center Cancer Center and Little Hospice for her lovely and skilled care spanning her difficult illness. Those who wish to continue Renee's commitment to providing hope and guidance to children should direct donations to Washburn Center for Children, 2430 Nicollet Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55404.
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.