Emma Lucille Hall Rettig
Feb. 10, 1917 - July 29, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008 12:11 AM PDT
Ontario
Emma L. Rettig, 91, of Ontario, passed away Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at a Boise hospital.
Emma Lucille Hall Rettig was born Feb. 10, 1917, on a farm outside Gettysburg, S.D. She was the third of nine children born to Leon Hall and Susan Barr Hall.
After graduating from Gettysburg High School in 1935, she came west to Malheur County, Oregon. She worked for various families in the Jamieson/ Brogan area. While attending a dance in Jamieson, Emma met her future husband, Clarence Rettig.
They were married Jan. 17, 1939, settling in Brogan where Clarence worked for the irrigation projects. They bought their first home along with a peach orchard. While there, their two sons Robert and Ronald were born. Later, they moved to a farm west of Nyssa and to Ontario in 1950. In Ontario, she worked at Rock’s Department Store and Norris Variety Store.
After retiring, Emma was an active volunteer at Holy Rosary Medical Center. She was very proud of her 28 years of service, mostly in the gift shop. Emma was also a talented artist. Her many paintings are a prized possession of family and friends. A competitive person by nature, she enjoyed games of all kinds, especially social bridge.
Emma is survived by her two sons, Robert (Pam), of Greenbrae, Calif., and Ronald (Nora), of Ontario; two sisters, Dora Walters and Catherine Wahle, of South Dakota; three grandchildren, Tamera (Tom) Galt, of Alameda, Calif., Randall (Julie) Rettig, of West Lynn, Ore., and Ann Marie (Rob) Nutt, of Ontario; and six great grandchildren.
Emma was preceded in death by Clarence Rettig, her husband of 58 years, as well as five brothers and one sister.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at Lienkaemper Chapel in Ontario. A visitation will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Lienkaemper’s. Memorials may be made in Emma’s name to the Holy Rosary Auxiliary. Condolences to the family may be made at www.lienkaemper-thomason.com.
