Rita Maxine Koeppen (Mills)
April 6, 1915 — October 23, 2011
Rita Maxine Koeppen, 96, of Marion, died peacefully October 23, 2011 at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids with her children at her side. Funeral Services will be on Thursday October 27, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. by Rev. Mike Morgan at Murdoch Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Marion. Family will greet friends Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 from 4-7 p.m. at the funeral home. Inurnment will be at Blodgett Cemetery in rural Central City.
Survivors include her daughter, Deborah Fuller Dreckman of Mission Viejo, CA and her son, Douglas (Pam) Fuller of Marion, IA; four grandchildren who were so fortunate to grow up with her so close by: David Dreckman and Steven Dreckman of Cedar Rapids, IA, William Fuller of Orange, CA, and Jessica Fuller of New Hampton; a nephew Wilfred "Sonny" Wilkinson of Marion, IA, and four great-grandchildren She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Fern Mills, Luella Wilkinson, Wilma Palmer, Darlene Cunningham, and her brothers Donald Mills and William Joe Mills.
Rita was born April 6, 1915 in Paris, Iowa, the daughter of William and Charity Ann "Anna" (Sommers) Mills. She was a graduate of Central City High School Class of 1934. She met Otto Koeppen in Marion, while working at the Marion Theatre where "everyone knew her name". On February 10, 1952 she married Ott and he became her husband of 26 years and father to her children from a prior marriage, Deborah and Doug.
Rita was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Marion, Marion Business Women, the WIN group and her book club. She was an avid reader from the time she discovered "Little Women" but admitted to not sticking to the classics, preferring her not-so-secret addiction to romance novels. She was a Cubs fan extraordinaire, as was her father before her, and she passed this passion on to the next three generations! Rita's hands were always busy with knitting needles, embroidery hoops and thread, and doll clothes in progress. She loved her Lord and her church, and leaves behind her well used, worn Bible held together, after all these years, with rubber bands. And, with her leaving, there will be a huge hole in the group of women who sat together each Sunday, as well as in their hearts. Our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother always said the love of her life was her children. And as each new child came into the circle of her life, she enveloped them with love. She became "Mimi" to them, and Aunt Rita to her friends' children.
We will miss the soft hands that soothed us, the gentle voice that told us to "pick our battles" and the woman whose love somehow always made our world safer and more secure. She will never see her Cubs win the World Series , she won't hold a great-great-grandchild, and the Linn County Settlers Reunion will have a new "oldest" resident next year; however, she lived the life she wanted with strength and compassion, and she slipped into God's hands as she wanted, peacefully in her children's arms.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the First United Methodist Church of Marion.
Please sign our online guestbook for Rita at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Survivors include her daughter, Deborah Fuller Dreckman of Mission Viejo, CA and her son, Douglas (Pam) Fuller of Marion, IA; four grandchildren who were so fortunate to grow up with her so close by: David Dreckman and Steven Dreckman of Cedar Rapids, IA, William Fuller of Orange, CA, and Jessica Fuller of New Hampton; a nephew Wilfred "Sonny" Wilkinson of Marion, IA, and four great-grandchildren She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Fern Mills, Luella Wilkinson, Wilma Palmer, Darlene Cunningham, and her brothers Donald Mills and William Joe Mills.
Rita was born April 6, 1915 in Paris, Iowa, the daughter of William and Charity Ann "Anna" (Sommers) Mills. She was a graduate of Central City High School Class of 1934. She met Otto Koeppen in Marion, while working at the Marion Theatre where "everyone knew her name". On February 10, 1952 she married Ott and he became her husband of 26 years and father to her children from a prior marriage, Deborah and Doug.
Rita was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Marion, Marion Business Women, the WIN group and her book club. She was an avid reader from the time she discovered "Little Women" but admitted to not sticking to the classics, preferring her not-so-secret addiction to romance novels. She was a Cubs fan extraordinaire, as was her father before her, and she passed this passion on to the next three generations! Rita's hands were always busy with knitting needles, embroidery hoops and thread, and doll clothes in progress. She loved her Lord and her church, and leaves behind her well used, worn Bible held together, after all these years, with rubber bands. And, with her leaving, there will be a huge hole in the group of women who sat together each Sunday, as well as in their hearts. Our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother always said the love of her life was her children. And as each new child came into the circle of her life, she enveloped them with love. She became "Mimi" to them, and Aunt Rita to her friends' children.
We will miss the soft hands that soothed us, the gentle voice that told us to "pick our battles" and the woman whose love somehow always made our world safer and more secure. She will never see her Cubs win the World Series , she won't hold a great-great-grandchild, and the Linn County Settlers Reunion will have a new "oldest" resident next year; however, she lived the life she wanted with strength and compassion, and she slipped into God's hands as she wanted, peacefully in her children's arms.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the First United Methodist Church of Marion.
Please sign our online guestbook for Rita at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
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