A memorial service for Rita Bedney will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Christ Lutheran Church in Byron. The Rev. Jack Friedli will officiate. Burial of the urn, at a later date, will be at Grandview Memorial Gardens in Owatonna. Mrs. Bedney, a Byron resident since 1969, died on her 67th birthday on Monday, June 11, 2012, at her home.

Rita Jean Underland was born June 11, 1945, in Austin, the daughter of Kenneth and Sadie Underland. Raised in Owatonna, as a child she enjoyed the vacations spent up north with relatives. She was a 1963 graduate of Owatonna High School. On July 6, 1963, in Owatonna, she married her high school sweetheart, Dick Bedney. She will be remembered as a kind and happy person and a loving wife and mother. She enjoyed reading, knitting, and spending time with family. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Byron.

She is survived by her husband, Dick Bedney, of Byron; a son, Scott (Betty Jo) Bedney of Rochester; a daughter, Lisa Cummins of Rochester; a granddaughter, Madison Cummins of Rochester; and three sisters: Donna Dillemuth of Rochester, Linda (Larry) Arens of Austin and Deb Johnson of Owatonna. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Friends may call one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday.  Online memorials are being welcomed and may be created at www.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com.