Rita Marie (Hannah) Piroutek

Rita Marie (Hannah) Piroutek, 83, passed away peacefully at Echo Ridge Assisted Living in Rapid City, SD, on Monday, March 7, 2022.

Rita, the daughter of Maurice and Rose (Hetzel) Hannah, was born on June 26, 1938, in Belle Fourche, SD, where she graduated from high school in 1956. She then went on to St. Johns McNamara School of Nursing in Rapid City, SD, and graduated in 1959. She was working as a registered nurse at St. John’s Hospital in Rapid City when she met Gary W. Piroutek. They were married on September 4, 1961, at St. John’s Catholic Church. She continued to work at the hospital until 1970, when they moved to Albert Lea, MN, and then onto Minneapolis, MN, in 1971. She worked as a nurse at Ft. Snelling VAMC there. In 1976, the family moved to Sturgis, SD, where she worked at Ft. Meade VAMC. Rita retired from the VA as a registered nurse in March of 1996 but continued to work in the long-term ward there as a care giver and then she volunteered for hospice. She was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Altar Society. In 2014, Gary and Rita moved from Sturgis to Rapid City to an apartment, then in April of 2021, they moved to Assisted Living.

Family was an important part of Rita’s life. She was proud of her children and grandchildren. She had many dear friends. She loved to sew. She always had on an apron that she had made, and there would be a piece of hard candy with a wadded tissue in the pocket. Her hands were busy knitting. She made stacks of dish cloths that she was quick to give away. She loved to travel or “go tripping” especially to her sister’s convent in Wisconsin, Yellowstone, and Canada, with their friends, Harry and Colleen Ohrtman, and brother, Gerald, and his wife, Judy Hannah.

She loved taking care of people and loved having her children and grandchildren around her. She was compassionate, loving, kind, and patient.

Rita is survived by her husband, Gary of Rapid City, SD; brother, Kenneth (Marlene) Hannah of Havre, MT; son, David (Rita) Piroutek of Cheyenne, WY; son, Michael (Caroline Faye) Piroutek of Milesville, SD; daughter, Mary Ellen (Robert) Bryant, Sioux Falls, SD; eleven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Dorothy (Erwin) Holt, Phyllis (Paul) Kertzman, Marjorie Hannah, Genevieve (Mother Paula) Hannah, and Barbara (Richard) Lee; brothers, William (Janice) Hannah, Bobby Hannah, and Gerald (Judy) Hannah.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial in Rita’s name to either Monument Hospice in Rapid City, SD, or the building fund for Valley of Our Lady Convent, build.valleyofourlady.org.

Visitation will be at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis, SD, on Sunday March 20, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. with a Rosary to follow at 5:00 p.m.

Memorial Mass will be Monday March 21, 2022, at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sturgis, SD, with Fr’s Timothy Castor, and Tony Grossenburg, as well as Deacon Roger Heidt, officiating at 10:00 a.m.

Interment will follow at 11:30 a.m. at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com.