Rita was born to James W. and Lillie Warner Syfert. She married Dean Topping. They divorced. On December 18, 1948, she married Roscoe R. "Red" Jeffrey in Mount Pleasant. He died June 1, 1996. She was a telephone operator in Keosauqua and worked as a cook for Birmingham schools. She had resided in Good Samaritan Center since 1991, having previously lived in Birmingham, Fairfield, and Keosauqua.

Survivors include son, Ned of Rochester, Minnesota; daughter, Teresa Phillips of Norwalk, Ohio; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; brothers, Rex of Keosauqua and Harold of Hillsboro; and sisters, Kathryn Beer of Marion, Ruth Stansberry of Cedar Rapids, and Mary Bradfield of Birmingham.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, one son, and two brothers.

Funeral services were held at Pedrick Funeral Home, with the Rev. Phil Campbell officiating.

Source: Find A Grave online

Rita was born to James W. and Lillie Warner Syfert. She married Dean Topping; they divorced. On December 18, 1948, she married Roscoe R. "Red" Jeffrey in Mount Pleasant. He died June 1, 1996. She was a telephone operator in Keosauqua and worked as a cook for Birmingham schools. She had resided in Good Samaritan Center since 1991, having previously lived in Birmingham, Fairfield, and Keosauqua. Rita was living in Keosauqua, IA as of 25 Dec 2005 according to her brother Glen's obituary.
Source: Excerpts from Rita's obituary, "The Fairfield Ledger", Fairfield, IA, published 21 Jun 2006.