Rita Jean, formerly of Dawson, the Madison area and Montevideo, died on Saturday, December 24, 2011 in St. Cloud, MN at the age of 85. Memorial services will be conducted on Friday, December 30, 2011 at 2:30 P.M. at the Anderson Funeral Home Chapel in Montevideo. Rita Jean Mattson was born on September 5, 1926 in Dawson, MN to Harold and Theolena (Olson) Mattson. She grew up in Dawson and graduated from Dawson High School. She attended normal training and taught school for several years in Lac qui Parle County. She raised her family and did home health care in Lac qui Parle County. Rita then made her home where she found she could help people the most, traveling as far away as India and Pakistan and in Arizona for a number of years. She made her way back to Minnesota to share her final stages and message in her home state, and was currently a resident at the Talahi Care Center in St. Cloud. While living in a variety of places, she held numerous positions, mostly involving home health care, meals on wheels, homeless shelters, and working with veterans and Senior Citizens Centers. She was involved in various organizations including the Farmers Union, 4-H, Salvation Army, Maria Sandvig Center, Homeless Veteran's, the American Legion Auxiliary for over fifty years and was a housemother at the South Dakota State University farmhouse fraternity. She is survived by five sons: Gene (and Sandy) Schmidt of Gilbert, AZ, Bruce (and Ann) Schmidt of Raymond, SD, Dale (and Lila) Schmidt of Marshall, MN, Lee (and Cindy) Schmidt of Eagar, AZ, and John (and Ivonne) Schmidt of Philadelphia, PA; three daughters: Tina (and Ricky) Klosterboer of Montevideo, Donna (and Mark) Moenning of Hayfield, MN and Mary (and Charlie Pautler) Schmidt of Pierz, MN; twenty-one grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren; five sisters: Theola (and Conrad) Hofseth of Dawson, MN, Betty (and Neil) Anderson of Manhattan, KS, Martha Welch of Burlingame, CA, Esther (and Jack) Brown of Apache Junction, AZ and Josephine Arneson of Ft. Pierre, SD; a brother, Ordean (and JoAnne) Mattson of Chandler, AZ; as well as by numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; a granddaughter, Debbie Tyer; a brother-in-law, Bob Welch; and an infant brother.