Rita Erickson

Rita Erickson, 81, of Sioux Falls passed away unexpectedly at her home in Mesa, AZ from natural causes. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 17th at 11 am at East Side Lutheran Church of Sioux Falls. Visitation will be Sunday, March 16th from 5-7 pm at the Walter's Funeral Home in Freeman with a prayer service to be said at 6:30 pm. 

Rita was born on June 17, 1943, the oldest girl of 12 children born to John and Leta (Stubbe) Marquardt. She was born on a farm in Hutchinson County near Emery, South Dakota. Rita attended country school and graduated from Concordia High School in Seward Nebraska. After high school, she attended Concordia College, in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1967 she received her BA in education from Dakota Wesleyan and later a master’s degree from Wayne State. Her first year of teaching was at a rural school in Hutchison Co. Then she taught at the Lutheran school in Morristown, MN, and Bridgewater Public School.

She married, the love of her life, Loyal Erickson on June 9, 1964. Their daughter Marianne was born in 1970 when they lived in Bridgewater. Later, they moved to Bassett, Nebraska, where Loyal tragically passed away in a grain elevator accident on October 5, 1977. Following this loss, Rita and Marianne relocated to Wayne, Nebraska, where she completed her master’s degree. Her journey in life also led her to live in Fargo, North Dakota; Elkton, Yankton, Wentworth, and Sioux Falls in South Dakota. In 2004, Rita embraced one of her greatest joys—becoming "Nanny Granny" to her two grandsons. She cherished this role deeply and devoted herself to caring for them until 2020 when they moved to Florida for baseball.

Rita loved spending time with family and friends, especially caring for her daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. She enjoyed traveling, fishing trips, watching her grandsons play sports, needle work, golfing, Majong, gardening, playing cards and wintering in Arizona. She was always comforted when hearing “What a Friend We Have In Jesus and In The Garden”. Her favorite saying was “It’s all in God’s Hands”.

Rita is grateful for sharing her life with her daughter, Marianne Ossenfort and her husband Mark, her two grandsons, Matthew who plays baseball at North Carolina State and Michael who plays baseball at Stoneman Douglas in Florida, 3 godchildren Veronica Kusser, Michael Keiper and Jessica Marquardt. Four sisters and 5 brothers, Robert Marquardt, Rosalita Thompson, Ruby (Norm) Prochnow, Ralph (Lucille) Marquardt, Roland (Marcy) Marquardt, Raymond (Ivadell) Marquardt, Ramona (Terry) Schroeder, John (Gale) Marquardt, and Renee (Mark) Hejna, sisters-in-law Devona (Bill) Wiskur, LaVae Marquardt and Sharon Meyers, many nieces, nephews and cousins. Proceeding her in death were her husband Loyal, her parents John and Leta and in laws Martin, Elizabeth and Lucille, two brothers Roger and Ricky, a sister in-law Renee Crampton and a brother-in-law Junior Keiper and one niece Sara Jean Prochnow.

Throughout her life, she was blessed with many joys: a loving husband, a devoted daughter and son-in-law, precious grandsons, numerous brothers and sisters, cherished in-laws, and dear friends who played special roles in her life. Rita’s faith sustained her through life's challenges and triumphs alike. She will be remembered for the love and faith she shared with those around her and the warmth she brought into their lives.

May her memory bring comfort to all who knew her.