Cover photo for Rita Frenzel's Obituary
Rita Frenzel Profile Photo
1922 Rita 2019

Rita Frenzel

July 26, 1922 — September 19, 2019

Detroit Lakes

Rita F. Frenzel, 97, Detroit Lakes, MN, died Thursday, September 19, 2019 at Oak Crossing in Detroit Lakes.  Mass of Christian Burial will be 1:00 PM Thursday, September 26 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Detroit Lakes, Msgr. Timothy McGee, officiating.  Interment will be in Ft. Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis at 1:15 PM on Monday, Sept. 30.

Friends may call at the church 1 hour prior to the mass on Thursday.

Rita Francis Frenzel was born July 26, 1922 in Hillsboro, ND to Walter and Olivia (Schnoebelen) Vettel, the oldest daughter of 12 children.  She was raised and educated in Caledonia, ND, and earned her degree in nursing from St. John’s School of Nursing in Fargo in 1944.    While in college, she joined the Cadet Nurse Corps and served as an Army nurse from October 24, 1944 to May 2, 1946.  Following her discharge, she moved to Minneapolis where she worked for the Sister Kenny Institute fighting polio.  Rita was united in marriage to George Frenzel, December 30, 1946 in Hillsboro, ND.  She worked as a nurse in the Twin Cities and she and George split their time between Minneapolis and their lake home on Lake Six near Frazee, MN.  They eventually made their home on Lake Six full time and, following George’s death in 2004, Rita eventually moved to Detroit Lakes.  She lived at The Madison prior to entering Oak Crossing.

Rita enjoyed Shopping, antiquing, reading, playing cards, 40’s and 50’s music and traveling.

Survivors include her five children: Mark (Sheila) of  Eden Prairie, MN, Leslie (Richard) Rudquist of Frazee, Georgia (Duane) Dorow of Frazee, David (Gabriele) of Rosemount, MN, Rita (Robert) Hahn of Minneapolis, nine grandchildren, 13 Great Grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters: Gerald (Lorraine) Vettel of Pine Island, MN, LaVonne Kozojed of Hillsboro, ND, Thomas (Karen) Vettel of Hillsboro, ND, Janice Berry of Mission Viego, CA.  In addition to her husband, George, Rita was preceded in death by five brothers and two sisters: Carl, Dorothy Smith, Harold, George, Geneva Anderson, Edward and Walter.  David-Donehower Funeral Home is serving the family.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Rita Frenzel, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Thursday, September 26, 2019

12:00 - 1:00 pm (Central time)

Holy Rosary Catholic Church (Detroit Lakes)

MN

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Mass of Christian Burial

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Starts at 1:00 pm (Central time)

Holy Rosary Catholic Church (Detroit Lakes)

MN

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 34

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree