Funeral Services for Lauretta Pearl Koehn, 85, of Yukon, Oklahoma formerly of Fairview will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at the Church of God in Christ Mennonite with burial in the Cedar Cemetery.  Reverend Matt Levings will officiate.  Arrangements are by Fairview Funeral Home, Inc.

Lauretta (Rita) Pearl Koehn, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, was born to John J. and Eva Marie Nightengale at Isabella, Oklahoma on December 22, 1940, and quietly passed away on February 5, 2026, at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, reaching the age of 85 years.

Mom's childhood was spent near Isabella, Oklahoma. She would speak fondly of growing up near the railroad tracks with her eleven brothers and sisters.  She would often say how the engineers would throw out candy, watermelon, and other goodies for her and her siblings. In earlier years, her and her sisters would often get together and spend the afternoon laughing and telling stories about their childhood and all the shenanigans that they got themselves into.  She completed 8 years of schooling at the small rural school in Isabella before she needed to "grow up and start working."  She often told of walking the mile to school in the snow and how sometimes she could walk right over the fences because the snow was so deep!

On November 4, 1960, she married Victor Koehn in Fairview, Oklahoma.  They were baptized into the Church of God in Christ Mennonite on April 23, 1972 by Minister Milton Boehs. Mom was faithful to this calling the rest of her life.  Mom and Dad were married just shy of 62 years when he passed away.  Four children, Vicki, Valerie, Vanessa, and Vincent, were born to this union.  God called three of their children home in their childhood years, bringing much pain and heartache to them.  This loss brought our family so much closer and when their grandsons, Logan and Levi, were born, mom and dad were delighted.  Mom would often say, "If I knew that having grandchildren was so much fun, I would have had them first!"  She made sure that her grandsons knew how much she loved them.  She doted on them and often would side with them over dad, much to dad's irritation! She loved to be involved in whatever they were interested in at the time, whether that was fishing or computer games. She even taught both of them to drive in dad's old green truck!

Mom was a stay-at-home mother until Vince had been in school for a few years.  When she knew we didn't need her as much, she started as a housekeeper at the Classic Inn Motel in Fairview.

She later worked as a housekeeper and in the maintenance department at Fairview Fellowship Home.  She always had a smile and kind word for those around her and will be remembered as being upbeat and cheerful.

In August 2022, mom fell and broke her back.  She was not ever able to fully recover from this and walk again.  She spent her remaining years being cared for at home by Valerie and her grandchildren.  This was very hard on mom as she was such an independent lady.  She wanted to be able to do more for herself and those around her.  She would often say how much that would mean to her if she could just get up and help in some way.

Rita is survived by her daughter, Valerie, and grandsons, Logan and wife Brooke, and Levi.  Roger Nightingale and wife Lori, Andrew Nightingale and wife Paula, sisters in law Betty Giesbrecht and Emalee Wedel and husband Victor, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, three children (Vicki, Vanessa, and Vince), and 12 siblings.