Rita M. Steyaert

During the evening of January 13, 2022, Rita M. Steyaert, our loving mother and grandmother, returned home to be with her sweetheart, Franklin, and the many family members that preceded her.After a long goodbye due to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, and her recent decline due to COVID-19, she is now free from the limitations that held her back in her last years. Rita was born on September 1, 1934, in Great Falls, Montana to Matt T. and Marguerite Dunn Schmidt.She grew up on the north side of Great Falls and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1952.She worked at the Great Falls Clinic until her marriage to Franklin H. Steyaert in June of 1955.They came close to celebrating their golden anniversary, missing it by 2 years due to Franklin passing in March 2003. Family was the primary focus of her life. She was an incredible mother and homemaker, and the supporting arm to multiple aunts and uncles in the extended family in the Cascade county area.She was a friend and a compassionate, nurturing, motherly influence to so many, a family that extends well beyond our direct kinships.Volunteer activities provided much meaning to her.A cancer survivor herself, she volunteered at the Columbus Hospital Radiation Oncology facility following Franklin’s treatment there and also at the Sletten Cancer Institute in radiation treatment and main patient waiting areas.Her most fulfilling activity was the time spent with the babies in the Benefis Health System Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); the Rock-N-Read program.We are proud that our mom touched so many lives in a meaningful, loving way. Mom was a devout member of the Catholic church and had been a member through the years of the St. Gerard, Holy Family, and Holy Spirit parishes.Her faith was significant, intertwined with its role and importance to her family values. Her husband Franklin H. Steyaert, her parents Matt T. and Marguerite D. Schmidt, her brother David T. Schmidt, and many cousins, aunts and uncles preceded Rita in death. She is survived by her daughter Sherrin (Brad) Den Boer; and her sons, Gordon and Warren (Donna) with their son Brian. The family is extremely grateful to the staff and other residents at Avondale Senior Villa in Redmond, Washington for loving and caring for her as the Alzheimer’s disease progressed. Viewing will be available on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. at Schnider Funeral Home ( 1510 13th Street South).While paying respects, please be cognizant of safety and health considerations for others. A Funeral Mass, with only immediate family in attendance, will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church followed with interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Addressing COVID-19 safety considerations and attendance limitations, the live-stream Mass can be accessed through the Facebook link provided on the Holy Spirit Catholic Church website http://holyspiritgf.org/ (on Friday, January 28, 2022, at 11:00 a.m.). A celebration of life, in her honor, will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please spend time with a loved one.Feed a disadvantaged person or animal.Take a long-lost friend to lunch.Hug longer than 3 seconds (when safe to do so). Or consider making a memorial donation to the Alzheimer’s Association, the Sletten Cancer Institute or other Benefis Health Systems Foundation program, or Central Catholic High School. She longest lives, who most to others gives, herself forgetting.