Rita Shiers

SHE WON! Cancer took her life, but Rita kept her spirit.
Rita W. Shiers passed away on Saturday Feb 25th surrounded by family at home on Lake Ida. Rita, daughter of Leonard and Bernice Tufton White, was born June 26, 1950 at St Luke’s Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota. She attended Moorhead High School, where she met the love of her life, Terry Shiers. They were married in November of 1969 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Moorhead. In 1970 Terry joined the Navy and over the next seven years the couple found themselves living in many new places, sharing many new adventures, and making many new friends. Eventually, they returned to Moorhead where they raised their two daughters.
Rita was a co-founder, along with her husband and father, of Wess Piping, Inc., a mechanical construction firm. Her attention to detail and office skills were an integral part of the business’s operations. Later, Rita and her husband owned and operated Quantum Associates.
In 2000, Rita and Terry moved to Lake Ida and together they built their dream home on the Lake. Rita always had a green thumb and loved gardening. Her special passions included listening to a wide variety of music, dancing, playing the piano and strumming the guitar. She especially enjoyed watching birds and wildlife at her lake home, playing golf, and travelling all over the world. Rita delighted in providing her family with homemade fudge made from her mother’s “secret” recipe.
Rita was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother and was known for her giving nature. She retired in 2004 and spent the next several years sharing and enjoying many adventures with her children and grandson and providing loving care to her widowed mother. She will be dearly missed.
She is preceded in death by her parents, and her brother Rodney. She is survived by her husband Terry, daughters Whitney Ed, Nichole Jon, sister Robin Jim, and grandson Leigh.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 1st from 5-7pm with a prayer service at 7:00 at Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead.
Service will be held Thursday March 2nd at 11:00 am at Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead.