Rita Renee Roberson, 70
Rita Renee Roberson, age 70 of New Hampton, passed away on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Linn Haven in New Hampton.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Jerico Lutheran Church in Jerico, with Pastor Peter Faugstad officiating.
There will be a visitation from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the church on Saturday prior to the funeral service.
Burial will be held at a later date.
Rita was born December 11, 1952, to Oscar and Arlene Vikdal. She was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church and graduated from New Hampton High School.
She married her high school sweetheart, Steven Robersonm on June 16, 1973, and they continued their love story all the way to the end. Complete opposites, but together they made the perfect team.
That perfect team welcomed a son named Derik on March 24, 1988, upon which Rita stopped working at TriMark. She stayed home with Derik until he started elementary school, then decided to volunteer at the elementary school just to see him.
She then followed him to the high school where she worked as a part-time cook until retiring in 2013. Words cannot describe how amazing of a mother Rita was. A perfect, irreplaceable mother from day one, the type of mother everyone should be lucky enough to have.
Not only was Rita the perfect mother, but she was also the perfect wife. She was trying to hold on a little longer as the happy couple were set to celebrate 50 years of marriage next month. What an accomplishment!
And what a life the two shared. From a farm in Jerico to the last 14 years back in New Hampton, what an adventure every step of the way.
Their greatest passion together was traveling, and they made it to 48 of the 50 states, missing only Rhode Island and Hawaii. They had fun and made memories on every trip, but their favorite was when they ventured to Alaska. One road in, one road out. What an experience, what beauty!
They also enjoyed their three trips to Canada, eating clam chowder on the East Coast while taking in the changing fall colors and all their trips to Florida to escape the cold Iowa winters.
Recently they enjoyed trips to Las Vegas to see their son and the most special trip was in 2019 where on back-to-back nights we saw Lady A followed by Carrie Underwood. Rita was having the time of her life, while the lack of sleep almost killed Steven. He had to take a nap on Sunday while mother and son headed down the strip to find a Blake Shelton machine! Again, words can’t express how much Steven will miss his travel partner and the best companion he could ever ask for.
Perfect mother, perfect wife, perfect everything.
In high school Rita worked at the A&W and the Main Diner and that led to her lifetime love of cooking. It was her way to decompress and anything she baked could have been served in the finest restaurants around the world. These last few years she was able to cook more often with her son and he will always be grateful for the lessons handed down by his brilliant mother. Her favorite saying was the fondest memories are made when gathered around the table.
In her spare time Rita enjoyed reading. Nora Roberts was her favorite author and she loved getting lost in her books. Another passion of hers was putting puzzles together, anything to pass time in the winter! She also enjoyed playing cards and any board game her son managed to bring home. A Minute to Win It will always be a memory the family will never forget as it was a night full of awkwardness and lots of laughs. Any activity always involved music from the 60s and the 70s.
Inside during the winter and outside in the spring when the yard work began. She enjoyed landscaping and trying new creative projects and putting them on display in the yard. Her creativity was unmatched. That creativity trickled into the house as well. After her house was spotless and food was in the fridge, she would find new things to try, make, or bake. Such a talented superwoman gone much too soon.
Survivors include her two favorite men; her husband Steven and son Derik meant the world to her, and their lives will never be the same without their rock. She also leaves behind two sisters, Sharon Townsend of New Hampton and Judy Doyle of Bellingham, Washington, both of whom she was close to and a brother, Ron and Nita Vikdal of North Washington, who was her hero growing up. Lastly, she leaves behind many nieces and nephews and a ton of great friends who felt more like family over the years.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Arlene Vikdal.
