Joanne Tritz

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Joanne Tritz, age 85, of Dumont, MN, who passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on Sunday, January 22, 2023, at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Graceville, MN. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the church with a prayer service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the Mass on Thursday. Burial will take place at Graceville Consolidated Cemetery in the Spring of 2023.

Joanne Mary (Ritter) Tritz was born on December 8, 1937, in Graceville, MN, to Lewis and Blanche (Cota) Ritter. While growing up, she worked in her parent’s café. She attended Graceville High School, graduated in 1955, and later attended Minneapolis Business College. While in the Twin Cities, she worked in the office at Cargill.

On March 25, 1959, Joanne was united in marriage with Milo Elmer Tritz at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Graceville, MN. Together, they resided in rural Dumont, MN, where they proceeded to raise, with love and devotion, seven children while operating their grain farm. Joanne was a dedicated housewife and helped on the farm by driving grain truck, packing and delivering lunch boxes, running after parts, and bookkeeping. In her “spare” time, she loved gardening, canning, sewing, decorating cakes, listening to music, singing, dancing, and visiting with neighbors and friends. Joanne worked hard her entire life, but she never tired of giving of herself and lending a helping hand in so many ways. Joanne and Milo did find time to travel and loved to watch sunsets in Maui.

Joanne’s heart was full of love for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed attending grandchildren’s events and activities and celebrating with all of them and she was often the life of the party. Joanne was very proud of the fact that she had such a large family and when they all gathered together at holidays, she could be heard saying to her husband, “Just look what we started!”

In 1976, Joanne and Milo purchased Pleasant Pines Resort near Hackensack, MN. Joanne enjoyed spending time up north and was known for sitting under the “knowledge tree” visiting with guests and driving around on the golf cart just “checking things out”. She spent several summers managing and enjoyed her “PPR family”.

Joanne had a good heart, a strong faith, a generous soul, and treasured the people in her life. Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 63 years, Milo; her children: Kenneth (Gloria) Tritz, Terry (Lois) Tritz, Sandy Homan, Bev (Tim) Nigg, Randy (Melissa) Tritz, Todd (Val) Tritz, and Lori (Tom) Notch; 21 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; brother, William “Bill” Ritter; and sister-in-law, Bonnie (Murray) Ritter.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lewis and Blanche; her sister, Donna (Ritter) Tritz, her brother, James “Jim” Ritter; brother-in-law, Donald Tritz; sister-in-law, Elaine (Curran) Ritter; and son-in-law, Kevin Homan.

Blessed be her memory.