Funeral services for Reka E. Neitzel, age 63, of Albert Lea will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Calvary Baptist Church. The Rev. Glen Stevens will officiate. Interment will be in the Hollandale Cemetery. Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home, and one hour prior to the services at the church.

Reka was surrounded by her family at home as she entered the presence of Jesus, her Savior, after a courageous battle with cancer. Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend will be dearly missed.

Reka Eleanor Neitzel was born June 26, 1939, to Melvin and Mary (Loverink) Waalkens in Rose Creek. She attended Hollandale Elementary and Albert Lea High Schools. Reka was a lifelong resident of Freeborn County. On March 14, 1959, she was united in marriage to Dale Neitzel in Hollandale. Reka was a member of Crossroads Evangelical Free Church and active in a Tuesday Bible Study group. She volunteered for Naeve Partners in Health, enjoyed traveling, attending Southern Gospel Music Festivals with her husband, and spending time with her family and friends. Family was very important to Reka.

Survivors include her husband of 43 years, Dale Neitzel; daughter, Carla Neitzel of Anoka; son, Rod Neitzel and wife Deb of Owatonna and children, Rachel Powell and husband Mason and their daughters, Chelsea and Corrie, of Owatonna, Jennifer Douty and husband Andrew and their children, Samantha and Jacob, of Austin, and Kim Nelson and her daughter, Alyssa, of Austin; daughter, Mary Knutson and husband Tim and their children, Jordan, Jonah and Hannah, of Albert Lea; daughter, Sharon Evenson and husband Jamie and their children, Ashley and Ryan, of Albert Lea; son, Scott Neitzel of Albert Lea; and “chosen daughter,” Cindy Harris of Anoka; brother, John Waalkens and wife Judy of Glenville; sisters: Marge Buckmaster and husband Louie of Shawnee, Okla., Babe Enderson and husband Larry of Albert Lea, and Bev Huston and husband Lynn of Austin; sisters and brothers-in-law: Deli Neitzel of Coon Rapids, Audrey Sorenson and husband Howard of Albert Lea, Richard Neitzel and wife Susie of Mankato, and Karen Hendrickson and husband Laurel of Albert Lea; and nieces and nephews.

Reka was preceded in death by her parents, Melvin and Mary Waalkens; her mother- and father-in-law, Ralph and Augusta Neitzel; her brother-in-law, Myron Neitzel; and her nephew, Bruce Neitzel.

Memorials are preferred to the Crossroads Evangelical Free Church Harvest the Land Fund, or to the Crossroads Community Hospice.