My mother, Rebecca Emily (Zinniker) Rittenhouse was born of Milton Otto Zinniker and Bonita Jeanne Self on November 26th, 1962 in San Bernardino, California. She passed away early in the morning on November 28th, 2025 surrounded by her loving family at her home in Meridian, Idaho. As a little girl, Becky was deeply cherished by her brothers: Jim Randol, Russel Randol, John, David, and Quinton Zinniker. Some of her fondest early memories involve her attending the annual Swiss Picnic in Duarte, California. When Becky was in middle school, her father, Milton, remarried. Becky gained yet another loving brother, Brian Zinniker, and a sister, her best friend, Jenny (Zinniker) Disbrow. She also gained a wonderful stepmother, Janice (Loustaunau) Zinniker. With her guidance, Becky received her first communion in 1977.
At John W. North High School (1978-1981) in Riverside, Becky found great enjoyment and friendship in participating in the drill team with Jenny, who recalls how they would practice their splits on the kitchen floor. She also loved sewing outfits for 4-H. At 16, Becky’s birth mother, Bonnie, succumbed to kidney failure. This event stayed with Becky throughout her life. As a young adult, Becky worked as a talented debt collector. She always attributed her success to how she would take time to listen and empathize with people before coming up with a solution that was manageable for them.
At 28, Becky’s brother, David, introduced her to his good friend and coworker, Daniel John Rittenhouse. On February 5th 1994, Daniel and Rebecca were married at Chapel of the Flowers in Clark County, Nevada. Their first daughter, Rachel Ellen (Rittenhouse) Whipple was born on May 4th, 1996 in Riverside, California. Their second daughter, Hannah Ann Rittenhouse (myself), was born on October 18, 1997, a date chosen to honor Grandma Janice. Becky considered her family, especially her little girls, to the most important part of her life. In 1998, Becky and Dan took a chance and moved to Portland, Oregon. Not long afterwards, Dan received a job offer in Meridian, Idaho. This is where Becky raised Rachel and Hannah. At a playgroup for mothers with young children in Fort Boise, Becky met her close friends, Heather Schwabe, Gina Paulin, and Paula Goodsell, with whom she made many of her greatest memories.
Like her father, Becky never knew a stranger and would start friendly conversations with anyone and everyone. She always wanted to help people, even if she didn’t know them. She was the first person to ask if someone is alright or, “Should we do something?,” even if those around her were too embarrassed to intervene. For instance, when she saw a confused elderly woman standing outside her car in the grocery store parking lot, she insisted that I wait in my car until her family returned from shopping. Becky never cared about expensive things and saw the value of things beyond their popularity or brand name. She was a skilled thrifter and enjoyed hunting for treasures at secondhand stores, garage sales, and flea markets. She had a talent for spotting wild animals before anyone else, like when she pointed out the coyote in the farmer’s field, the giant toad in the flower bush, a deer on the side of the road, or the tiny mouse in the planter at the garden store. She could always find little bird nests in places where no one else will notice. She also was skilled at games that require good hand eye coordination like target shooting, corn hole, or bowling. Mom and I would have long conversations and go on long walks together around our neighborhood and park. She would always ask when I came home from school, “Do you want to go on a walk?” She could always tell how I was feeling. She’d come into my room and stroke my hair and ask “Are you alright? Just remember you can always talk to me.” She continued to do this at the later stages of her disease.
In 2021, Becky was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Like a thief, this disease gradually took all of these memories from her, although she experienced moments of lucidity, like when her devoted husband took her to her favorite camping spot, Redfish Lake or when she was holding her grandson, Samuel Otto Whipple, born March 16th, 2024. Daniel and Hannah are grateful to have had the opportunity to care for her at home. Becky was liberated from the burden of dementia when she took her last breath at around 5:45am on November 28th, 2025. She is currently residing with God, where all will be restored. She is survived by her husband, Daniel Rittenhouse, her daughters, Hannah Rittenhouse and Rachel Whipple, her son in law, Benjamin Whipple, her grandson, Samuel Whipple, her mother, Janice Zinniker, her brothers, Jim Randol, Brian, John, David, and Quinton Zinniker, her sister, Jenny Disbrow, along with countless other family and friends who meant the world to Becky. She is preceded in death by her father, Milton Zinniker, her birth mother, Bonita Self, and her brother, Russel Randol.