Curtiss Arthur Reitz was born Nov. 17, 1940, in Hettinger to Arthur Leon Reitz and Marguerite Blanche (Johnson) Reitz of Ralph, S.D. He spent his last days in this world surrounded by family, and at the age of 75 at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck, he passed on to new life around 3 a.m. Saturday morning, Sept. 10, 2016.
Visitation began on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Home Chapel, Bowman. There was a Rosary and Wake Service on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Scranton, North Dakota beginning at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Scranton with The Rev. Stephen Folorunso celebrated the Mass. Burial will follow in the Bowman Cemetery, Bowman, near his parents, Art and Marguerite.
Curt, as known to friends and family, attended the Ralph country school for the first four years of elementary school, and for grades five through his senior year of high school, continued his education at Saint Mary’s Catholic School in New England. In the first few years at St. Mary’s, he contracted a case of rheumatic fever, and not being able to go to school during that time, kept occupied by learning to play the piano by ear. He also learned to play the accordion and became a star football player for the St. Mary’s football program. Upon graduating from St. Mary’s, he was offered a football scholarship to attend Carroll College in Helena, Montana. After his first year at Carroll College, he married JoAnne Walby (Hettinger) in August 1962. He finished his degree at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, and returned to Ralph to help on the farm and raise his family. In the fall of 1971, they purchased the Bell Ranch northwest of Ralph where they resided until their children graduated from St. Mary’s, after which he pursued a career as a commodities broker. Eventually, he moved to Bismarck where he used his experience helping others in recovery programs with West Central Human Services and the Dakotah Foundation.
Curt is predeceased by his parents and sister, MaryLou (Reitz) Mollman, married to Dave Mollman (also now deceased). Those who remain in this world to celebrate his life in memory are: JoAnne (Walby) Reitz of Bismarck; son Robert of Saint Louis Park, Minn.; son Jonathan, married to Stacy (Johnson) Reitz and children Cody (and Christina Morales), Logan, Matthew, and Connor, of Alpharetta, Ga.; daughter Trish (Patricia Reitz) Jeske, married to Jim Jeske, and children Hannah, James and Thomas, of Bismarck; son Damon, married to Paula (Germann), and children Dalton and Kaitlin, of Scranton; and daughter Tammy (Tammera Reitz) Los, married to David Los, and children Alexis, Zander, and Henry, of Tucson, Arizona; sister Rita (Reitz) Andrews, married to Bob (now deceased); and Jan (Reitz) Faris, married to Lowell Faris; and a vast number of nieces and grand nieces, nephews and grandnephews, and cousins.
If desired, a memorial may be made to West Central Human Services or the Dakotah Foundation, both located in Bismarck, North Dakota. Additional information on these organizations is available at the following websites: www.nd.gov/dhs/locations/regionalhsc/westcentral/index.html; www.dacotahfoundation.com/.
Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
