Rita H. Gallagher

Former longtime Benson resident passes away at 93 in Colorado. Rita and her husband Bernie owned and operated the Coast-to-Coast hardware store in Benson for 20 plus years in the 1950's and 60's. Born in Jud, ND as Rita Keltgen in 1918, she was the 4th of 10 children and grew up in a rural agricultural family. Hit hard by the depression she did odd jobs to help put her older siblings through college and they in turn helped her and her younger siblings through high school and college. Graduating from Jamestown, ND College about 1939 she began an academic career teaching accounting and business at Osakis, MN high school. While walking to church one Sunday morning she struck up a conversation with Bernie Gallagher, a fellow parishioner and Danvers, MN native. They were married in August 1942. Soon thereafter Bernie enlisted in the Navy and they moved to Jacksonville, FL where he served as a navigator for the duration of World War II and where their first child Len was born. After the war they moved back to Minnesota first in Thief River Falls and then Bemidji where Bernie worked for the VA. In 1950 they purchased the Coast-to-Coast hardware store on Atlantic Ave in Benson where together they served the local community for many years. A second child Ann joined the family in 1951. Rita was an avid golfer who once scored a hole-in-one off the third tee at Benson Municipal Golf Course. Rita was an active member of the St. Francis Church where she delighted in quilting and other projects to support St. Francis School. With the children out of high school, Rita and Bernie sold the hardware store in 1971and began new part time careers both in Benson and managing garden apartments in Hopkins, MN. Later, the attraction of golf and an aversion to cold Minnesota winters caused them to join the seasonal ""snow-bird"" migration to Mission, TX where they delighted in renting an attic apartment for less then they paid for utilities back home. Bernie died in Benson at 87 in Nov 1996 and Rita continued her many Benson activities until ill health caused her to move to Wheat Ridge, CO in 2007 to live with her daughter Ann. Rita died peacefully in her sleep at Covenant Village nursing home March 7, 2011. A Memorial Service is scheduled for 2pm Sunday, March 11 at Horan & McConaty Funeral Home in Arvada, CO and her ashes will be buried later this summer next to Bernie at St. Francis Cemetery in Benson. In addition to her son Len of Rockville, MD and daughter Ann of Wheat Ridge, CO, Rita is survived by sisters Kay Ubowski of Denver, CO and Doris Bower of Fargo, ND, brother John Keltgen of Eldorado Hills, CA, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Please share your memories of Rita and condolences with her family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" link below.