A funeral Mass for Regina A. Raring will be at 10:30AM Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Rochester. Burial will be at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, Maryland. Mrs. Raring, 81, died Monday, June 29, 2009 at her residence. Regina Stellpflug was born November 16, 1927, at Galesville, Wisconsin. Her parents, Stephen Stellpflug and Frances Oberle, moved to Minnesota in 1931 and Regina grew up on farms near Rochester. She attended a one-room country school for two years, then St. John's Grade and Lourdes High School, followed by two years at St. Teresa College in Winona. She was employed as secretary-bookkeeper for O'Connor's Men and Boys Wear in Rochester and administrative assistant for the Dairy Division at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. She married Richard H. Raring, a research engineer for NASA, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 1967. They moved to Newport News, Virginia, in 1971 when Mr. Raring was transferred to NASA's Langley Research Center. After moving to Newport News, Regina and her husband co-founded the local Guild for Infant Survival, an organization promoting education and research on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Regina received a BS Degree in Biology from Christopher Newport College in 1977. She was an active member of the neighborhood garden club and the Church ladies guild. She enjoyed gardening, genealogy, and taking courses with the Lifelong Learning Society at Christopher Newport University. Mrs. Raring moved back to Rochester in 2006. She was preceded in death by her husband and an infant son, Stephen Richard and parents, Stephen and Frances Stellpflug and a sister Mary Stellpflug. Survivors include a sister, Margaret (Vern) Walton of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and five brothers: Paul (Eleanor) and Joseph (Dorothy) Stellpflug of Rochester, John (Jan) Stellpflug of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Leonard (Judy) Stellpflug of Rush, New York, and Leo (Jolene) Stellpflug of Paris, Texas.

Visitation is from 5:00-8:00PM, Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at Macken Funeral Home and an hour before the service on Wednesday at the church.

The family prefers memorials to Seasons Hospice. Macken Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. 507-282-1075 www.mackenfuneralhome.com