Rita Gayle Tollefsrud

Rita Gayle Tollefsrud, 73 of Rochester died peacefully on May 27, 2022 after a year of living with ALS. Rita was born on December 24, 1948 in Lake City to Kenneth and Mabel Haggerty; the second youngest of nine children. Rita married David Tollefsrud on December 30, 1967. Together they had three daughters, Julie (Paul) Schoenecker, Jessica (Jeff) Brinkman, and Jenna (Eric) Burfeind. Rita provided daycare in their home for 35 years. During their time together, Rita and David enjoyed traveling, gathering with friends and family and always looked forward to their week at Leech Lake each June. Together they celebrated 31 years of marriage before David's passing in April of 1999. Rita retired from daycare in 2003 allowing her and her companion Don Smith to travel and enjoy retirement. Rita is survived by her three daughters; her grandchildren William, Carter, Elizabeth, Kayla, Bennett, Elise, Alayna and Josephine; her sisters DoraLee (John) Sprenger, Joanne Nord, Sharon (Russ) Billings, Dianne (Sidney) Anderson; her sister-in-law Patty Haggerty and her brother Kenneth (Mary) Haggerty. Rita is preceded in death by her husband David Tollefsrud; her sisters Arlene (Don) Roberson, Marlys (Grant) Larson, her brother Gary Haggerty and brother-in-law Chuck Nord. A visitation will be held at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes on Thursday, June 2, 2022, from 6-8 pm. A celebration of Rita's life will be held at Mount Olive Lutheran Church on June 3, 2022 at 11:00 am with a visitation beginning at 10:00 am., followed by a luncheon. A graveside burial will take place at Lands Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, MN at 2:00 pm. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Tollefsrud family; to share a special memory of condolence please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com.