Rita Gallagher Rosenberg
Rita Gallagher Rosenberg, 61, of Wayzata died on October 22, 2010, following a long-term illness. Rita was survived by her loving husband, Howard.
Rita graduated from Roosevelt High School and Mankato State College with a BS in Urban Studies.
She was an advocate for women and journalist. Rita helped establish the first battered women’s shelter and center for victims of rape in Minneapolis. She befriended many women and mentored them in being more understanding, forgiving and tolerant of their own shortcomings and those of others.
As a journalist, her peak experience was interviewing Michael McDonald, former singer with the Doobie Brothers and longtime solo performer, and his wife, Amy Holland McDonald. She also interviewed actors Peter Falk, Jane Seymour and Rosenne Barr, comedian and politician Al Franken, and author Gail Sheehy, among others.
Rita sold advertising and was a writer with The Edge from 1999-2004, and through that experience she made and nurtured many friendships. Rita loved to sing, and she even went on stage to perform comedy. Her friends say Rita was always there with a prayer, joke and a smile, just when they needed it.
Her friend Nina Westbrook of Burnsville, MN, noted: “Sometimes I think of Rita as being like a little bird who had a crippled wing, and spent her whole life working on ways to learn to fly like most of the birds. And it turned out that most of the birds learned to fly better because of the crippled bird.”
Rita will be remembered fondly, and she will be missed by family and friends.
And now she is soaring on her angel wings!
Rita is survived by me as well. She was the most talented writer and salesperson that was ever on staff. She was the most evolved person I’ve ever met. We’ll miss her scathing humor, intelligenceinsight and so many other qualities.