Rita Mae (Roberts) Blankenau

July 8, 1936 – January 3, 2017

Rita Mae (Roberts) Blankenau, 80, of Lincoln, Neb. passed away on Jan. 3, 2017 in Lincoln. Funeral services will begin with a rosary at 10 and a Mass at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lincoln. A reception will follow at the church. Interment will be at the Catholic Cemetery in Dodge, Neb. Arrangements are by Butherus, Maser & Love.

Rita Roberts was born in West Point, Neb. to Glen and Catherine Roberts on July 8, 1936. Rita always spoke very lovingly of her childhood there and her children loved hearing about how she won her beautiful sewing machine by winning the grand prize for her sewing at the county fair. In a time when only about 6 percent of women earned a college degree, she earned her B.S. in Nursing in Omaha. Rita married Bill Blankenau in 1957 in West Point, Neb., and within ten years, she was blessed with eight children. Her endless steadfast love sustained the family. She understood the certainty of fish bait in the refrigerator and the short happy life of any baked goods in a household full of growing boys and girls.

Family lore states that husband Bill (the placer of bait in refrigerators) was always in search of better hunting or fishing grounds and Bill’s job enabled them to move to new locations easily. The couple lived in Papillion, Neb., Huron, S.D., Janesville, Wis., Mankato, Kan., McCook, Neb., Truth or Consequences, N.M., Moses Lake, Wash, and Lincoln, Neb. Everywhere, Rita made new homes and many lifelong friends through her volunteering, her church participation, and by sharing her knitting and artistic talents. And above all and always, she was kind.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bill, her brother Glen, her sister Betty, and her granddaughter Maya.

Rita is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Jim Clausen, her eight children and their partners: Gary and Camilla, Lori and Doug, Jimmy, Annie and Jim, Dan and Monica, Bill and Angela, Joe and Monica and Diane and Rich. In addition to Maya, Rita’s grandchildren are Ingrid, Frida, Mats, Iris, Bridgette, Rita, Bretta, Katie, Brian, George, Henry, Ben, Isaac, Nolan, Liam, Jackson, Amelia, and Dylan.

Memorials may be given to Saint Vincent de Paul or Catholic missions. The family of Rita Blankenau wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Tabitha Nursing home and hospice care.