November 25, 2008
The congregation was saddened by the loss of our Pastor's wife.
Loree
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
(11/24/2008) Loree Newcomb Reck, 63, of Crookston, Minnesota, died
peacefully early Sunday morning, November 23, 2008, in the Villa St.
Vincent Nursing Home in Crookston. Loree Ann was born in Sharon, North
Dakota on March 8, 1945 to Robert and Verna (Ranum) Newcomb. Her father
was the Superintendent of Schools there, and her mother was a former high
school English teacher. When Loree was eight the family moved to
Minneapolis, where her father was employed by a medical company. While
growing into the beautiful woman she came to be, Loree had great love for
her Lord, Jesus Christ, her family, children, Christian music and singing,
and her church. She graduated from Richfield High School in 1963, and went
on to earn a Bachelors degree in Library Science and Elementary Education
from Mankato (MN) State University in 1967.
For the next four years Loree taught 3rd grade in the Burnsville,
Minnesota school system. On July 31, 1971 she was united in marriage to
William F. Reck, a Lutheran pastor, in a ceremony that took place in
Loree’s home church, United Methodist Church of Peace in Minneapolis. The
couple settled in Medina, North Dakota, where Pastor Bill was serving the
English Evangelical Lutheran Church. While there Loree taught 5th and 6th
grade at nearby Steele, North Dakota, and later taught in Medina. In 1975
Pastor Bill took a call to serve St. John’s Lutheran Church in LeMars,
Iowa. For the next several years Loree devoted herself to being a fulltime
wife, mom, and homemaker. A son, Samuel, was born to Bill and Loree while
living in LeMars. They later received a call to serve Calvary Lutheran
Church in Perham, Minnesota, and while there welcomed into their loving
family son, Peter, daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy”, and son, Matthew. In 1987
Pastor Bill was called to serve the congregation of St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church in Crookston.
From that time until 1997 Loree taught part-time at Our Savior’s Lutheran
School. She then worked for a year in the P.E.P. program of the Crookston
Elementary Schools, and from 1999 to 2000 for the Crookston D.A.C. In 1998
her family began noticing that Loree’s memory was in decline. In 2000 a
diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease was made at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota. Because of Bill and the kids’ loving care Loree was able to
remain at home until January of 2004 when more help was needed. She
participated in the Riverview Nursing Home’s Adult Day Care program until
it became necessary to seek full-time nursing care. Since July, 2004 Loree
had lived in the Special Care Unit of the Villa St. Vincent in Crookston.
Loree always loved music and she served as children’s song leader in the
churches she and Pastor Bill served for over thirty years. She could
memorize a song in mere minutes, teach it to her children’s choirs, and
have them singing to the glory of God in just a few sessions. Loree had a
kind, gracious, loving, forgiving, patient, and caring spirit that
Alzheimer’s could never take from her. Loree will be remembered with great
love by her family and countless friends. May God bless the memory of this
beautiful Christian.
Loree leaves her devoted husband of thirty-seven years, Pastor Bill; her
four children and two granddaughters- Dr. Samuel Reck, M.D., and his wife,
Kristell, of Billings, MT, and their daughters, Loree Janet and Evelyn
Verna, Peter Reck of El Paso, TX, Elizabeth “Betsy” Reck of Rochester, MN,
and Matthew Reck and his wife, Allison, of Minneapolis, MN; her mother,
Verna Newcomb of Minneapolis; a brother, Robert Newcomb of Minneapolis;
and nieces, nephews, and other relatives. Loree was preceded in death by
her father, Robert Newcomb.
The funeral service for Loree Newcomb Reck will be held at 2:00 pm,
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Crookston
with The Rev. Bill Reck and The Rev. Carl Andersen, officiating.
Visitation for Loree will be at St. Paul’s on Monday from 5-7 pm, with a 7
pm prayer service, and also at the church for one hour prior to the
funeral. A graveside service will be held at the Olivia Cemetery in
Olivia, Minnesota on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 2:00 pm. The
Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home is assisting with funeral arrangements.
----------------------------------------------------------
Condolences may be sent to the church:
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
1214 University Avenue
Crookston MN 56716