Loretta Retka, 94, Little Falls

September 30, 1925 - September 2, 2020

Loretta Retka, 94 year old resident of Little Falls died Wednesday, September 2 at the Little Falls Care Center in Little Falls. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at 10:30 A.M at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Little Falls. A visitation will be held from 9:30-10:30 AM on Wednesday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. The burial will be held at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls.

Loretta H Wozniak was born on September 30, 1925 in Little Falls to the late Peter and Regina (Drellack) Wozniak. She graduated from Little Falls High School. Loretta attended the University of St. Catherine and received her nursing degree. She was united in marriage to David Retka in 1949 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Little Falls. The couple made their home in Little Falls. Loretta worked as a registered nurse at St. Gabriel’s hospital in Little Falls. She then went to work for the Lutheran Home in Little Falls, where she worked for the next 24 years as the Director of Nursing. She traveled extensively in 39 Countries and attended the Synod in Rome in 1985 and 1987. She was a very active volunteer in the community of Little Falls for several years. She was a member of the following organizations: Hospice Advisory Board, Morrison County DFL, Friends of Linden Hills, Minnesota Fishing Museum, Christian Mothers, Parks and Recreation Board and the Minnesota Utility Investors Board.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Wayne (Janis) Retka of Fort Ripley, Mary Becker of Molokai, HI; grandchildren, George (Pearl) Becker, John (Fina) Becker, Jenny Biermaier, Samantha (Joe) Benjamin, Gretchen Retka, Chris Olson; four great-grandchildren, Emma, Kyleigh, Elllery and Keegan.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Regina; husband, David; son, Bruce Retka; sisters, Margaret Rutz, Sylvia Helmerick, Joan Simons, Marte Fuller, Sophia Larsen, Isabelle Trettel, Rita McDonald, Barbara Zabel; brothers, Frank, Joseph, Daniel, Anthony, Cyril, Phillip, Leo, Stanley and Richard Wozniak.