Oklahoma Cemeteries Website
butterfly
image
Click here to break out of frames
This information is available for free. If you paid money for a
subscription to get to this site, demand a refund.
For any questions pertaining to an individual cemetery, you would need to contact the cemetery sexton / board / caretaker.

Della Faye Littlefield Rieger Smith
© Enid News and Eagle
06-2018
Submitted by: Glenn

© Enid News and Eagle

© Glenn

Della F. and Howard W. RIEGER

Apostolic Cemetery


May 26, 1926 - June 14, 2018

Della Rieger Smith passed from this life into paradise on June 14, 2018, with family members around her. She had recently celebrated her 92nd birthday.

On May 26, 1926, Della Faye Littlefield was born in Cherokee, Oklahoma, the youngest of five children in the Hal and Minnie Littlefield family. Her siblings were Warren, Lela, Verl and Hallie. The family farm was south of Driftwood and the Littlefield children all attended school at Driftwood School. Della graduated in 1944 along with six other seniors. Della married Howard Rieger of Burlington on June 4, 1944. In 1945, he was drafted into the army and stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

After Howard's discharge, the Riegers moved back to Burlington where Della was a homemaker and Howard operated the lumberyard and built homes. In 1954, they moved the family to Miami, Oklahoma, to operate a motel, returning to Burlington in 1956. While in Burlington, Howard built homes in and around the area. Della painted and finished the woodwork on the homes he built, while juggling four active children and a career selling Avon products. Howard and Della both accepted Christ as their Savior during a revival meeting. They were charter members of the Driftwood Christian Church and cherished the fellowship and community. Della and Howard moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1979, where Howard hoped to embark on a career in real estate. God took the family in a different direction.

After Howard's death in 1980, Della was presented with an opportunity to join a new family and began working in the fabric department of the first Walmart in Bentonville. She became a member of the Bella Vista Christian Church and enjoyed many get-togethers with the members. Della relocated to Enid in 1988, and continued to work for Walmart until her retirement in 1997. Walmart was more than a job to Della. It was at Walmart that she met, and later married, former Alfalfa County Sheriff, George Smith. George and Della lived in Enid for a number of years and she became member of the Oakwood Christian Church, where she continued to worship through 2017. George died in 1993.

Della is survived by her four children, Rennea Henn of Claremore; Ronda (Phil) Palmer of Tulsa; Rod (Peggy) Rieger of Protection, Kansas; and Ryan (Michelle) Rieger of Dallas, Texas; nine grandchildren; eighteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

She was preceded in death by one grandson, Todd Hill; her husbands; and four siblings. She will certainly be missed by all who knew her.

A celebration of Della's life is 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 23, 2018, at Driftwood Christian Church north of Cherokee.

Burial will be in the Apostolic Cemetery near Burlington, with arrangements by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Cherokee.

Condolences may be made at www.LanmanMemorials.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Circle of Love, through the funeral home.

|Apostolic Cemetery Page|  |Alfalfa County Cemetery Page|  |Home|



This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma Cemeteries

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.