October 6, 1945 ~ January 13, 2020
Barbara Marlane Stoneking Ritzel, 74, of Frost, Texas passed away on January 13 in a Coriscana hospital from a blood clot.
Bobbi, as she was often called, was born on Oct. 6, 1945. She was the youngest in her family, and only one of the children of Ralph Lenard and Mary Ann Dekker Stoneking to be born in a hospital in Delta, Utah.
She graduated from Delta High School in 1963. That was a very special time for her; after graduation she went to California and lived with her sister and family for a number of years. After taking care of her mother before she passed away, she moved to Texas, where her brother and sister and their families lived.
Together with her sister, Joyce, Bobbi went to work for Texas Instruments. We know she only met Robert (John) Ritzel, who was from upper state New York and living in the Dallas area.
After getting married, they tired of big city life, and bought ten acres of land in Frost. There they installed a trailer home and raised their big gardens. In order to supplement their income, they bought and operated vending machines.
Bobbi would put snacks in and Bob kept them running. They would install some in businesses in the Dallas area, some 80 miles from their home.
Robert passed away in 2015 from bladder cancer. Bobbi got very lonely, but had some very special neighbors who watched over her and would take her into Coriscana for doctor and shopping appointments.
Bobbi is preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Mary; grandparents A. Dekker Johanna Dinema Dekker, Edward Walkter and Nettie White Stoneking; step-grandmother and aunt Tekela Dinema Dekker; aunt Veva Robinson Dekker; cousins Richard A. Dekker; Donna Mae Dekker DeYarman; William Bill Dekker; Arjana Wood; Harold Murray; Little Hugh Murray and niece Mari Johanna Stoneking and three stepson.
She is survived by her siblings Edward Walter Stoneking of Segin, Texas; Ralph Floyd Stoneking, Delta, Utah; Joyce LaRoe Stoneking; cousins Robert Dekker; Doris Dekker Bennett; Margaret Dekker Glines; Helen Marie Stoneking; Karl Murray; Charlotte Murray Smith; nephews Chris Stoneking; Tim and Colin Jones; Todd and Tim Stoneking; Gage Stoneking; nieces Becky and Tracy Jones and Melissa Stoneking. We hope we have not missed anybody.
