Obituaries 1 March 2020

Delores 'Dee' M. Richter, 90

Delores “Dee” M. Richter, age 90, of New Hampton, IA passed away on Friday, February 28, 2020 surrounded by her family at New Hampton Nursing and Rehab.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, March 6, 2020 at Holy Family Parish in New Hampton with Fr. Brian Dellaert celebrating.  Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in New Hampton. 
Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 PM on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in New Hampton, with a 3:30 PM Rosary and a 7:00 PM Scriptural Wake Service.  Visitation will continue at the church one hour prior to the funeral mass on Friday.  Online condolences may be left at www.conway-markhamfh.com.  Memorials may be directed to the family.
Delores Marie was born May 20, 1929, the daughter of Werner and Emma (Ostwald) Gade on the family farm in Whittemore, IA.  Her family later moved to West Bend, IA where she graduated from West Bend High School in 1948.  Dee played high school basketball as a guard and clarinet in the band.  She worked at Gibens Restaurant during that time.  While out for a walk one day, Dee ran into a young soldier returning from WWII. 
This young soldier’s name was Bernard Richter, whom she fell in love with and married on December 17, 1948 at St. Peters’ and Pauls’ Rectory in West Bend, IA. The couple made their home on the Gade family farm where they welcomed their seven children, Larry, Gerald, Linda, Dennis, Gery, Karen and Wayne.  They moved to Ionia in 1958, and later moved to New Hampton. 
Dee worked at the Town Talk Restaurant before beginning her career at St. Joseph’s Hospital.  After 32 years, Dee retired from the hospital in 1995.  Retiring from St. Joseph’s was the beginning of a new chapter where she worked as a home caregiver for several families in and around New Hampton.   In Dee’s spare moments, she enjoyed embroidery, quilting, gardening and baking (especially at Christmas).  Her family was her pride and joy, soaking up every moment with them.  She was a member of Holy Family Parish and active with the Rosary Society.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children, Larry Richter, Linda (Allen) Heit, Dennis (Susan) Richter, Gery (Cherry) Richter, Karen (Don) Utley all of New Hampton; her grandchildren, Lisa Strecker, Jill (Jamie) DeSloover, William (Tabitha) Richter, Joleen (Mike) Hayden, Dan (Bekah) Heit, Shelly (Dave) Daly, Sondra (Brian) Thalken, Jennifer (Chris) Hovey, Kye (Tiffany) Richter, Kalee (Bo) Richter, Kaitlyn (Andy) Richter, Philip (Michelle) Utley, Tony (Jennifer) Utley, Kerrie (Brett) Franzen; 33 great-grandchildren +1 on the way; her siblings, Emmy Sewick of Algona, IA, Richard Gade of California, Darlene (Putter) Jergens of Gilmore City, and Judy (Vern) Wagner of Audubon, IA; and  numerous nieces and nephews. 
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bernard; her two sons, Gerald and Wayne; her grandson, Larry Richter, Jr; her brother, Milford Gade; sister, Lorraine Bell; brothers-in-law, Blaine Bell and Ray Sewick.

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