Rita R. Sunder

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 4, 2024 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in St. Joseph for Rita R. Sunder, age 78, of St. Joseph who passed away on Friday, September 27, 2024 at Mother of Mercy in Albany, after a short, but courageous battle with cancer. Reverend Brad Jenniges, OSB will officiate. Burial will take place in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and one hour prior to services on Friday, both at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church’s Heritage Hall.

Rita was born December 15, 1945 in Albany, Minnesota to Ambrose and Arlene (Butkowski) Finken. She graduated from Albany High School in 1963. She married Henry (“Hank”) Sunder on June 25, 1966 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Freeport. She was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

Family was everything to Rita and she loved raising her sons Glen and Lance and being a devoted wife to Hank. Having been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a young age, she faced many medical challenges throughout her life, but she always persevered through everything. She was passionate about photography and you would rarely find her without a camera in her hand capturing all of life’s moments big and small. Some of her most prized possessions were the many books of family pictures she created over the course of her life which were always a source of great conversation and reminiscing amongst her family members. She was a devoted family historian who spent countless years of research, interviews, and meticulous record-keeping to document and preserve the stories of many past generations that might have otherwise been lost to time. Her legacy will continue to inspire us and remind us of the importance of knowing and preserving our family heritage.

She is survived by sons, Glen (Brenda) Sunder of St. Joseph and Lance (Jennifer) of Cold Spring; grandchildren, Amber, Mason, and McKenna; siblings, Roger Finken, Betty (Steve) Kurr; and companion, Mike Schwinghammer.

Rita was preceded in death by her husband, Hank; her parents; siblings, Millie Voigt, Irene Schwinghammer and Ralph Finken.

The family would like to thank the staff of Mother of Mercy nursing home who took such good care of Rita.