Diane Ritter

The funeral mass for Diane Ritter, of Morris, Minnesota will be held on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at the Assumption Catholic Church in Morris. Celebrant for the funeral mass will be Father Todd Schneider. Visitation will be on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris, and Monday one hour prior to services at the church. Burial will be held at a later date at the Summit Cemetery, in Morris.

Diane Lila Torson, daughter of Theron and Lorraine (Bickel) Torson was born on January 12, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the age of 6, her father was killed in a trucking accident. A couple years later, Diane gained her second father, when her mother Lorraine married Marvin Andrews. The family moved to Graceville, Minnesota, where Diane graduated from Graceville High School in 1965. She was united in marriage to Ronald Ritter on January 22, 1966 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Graceville. The couple made their home near Chokio, Minnesota, farming together for 42 years. After retiring, Diane and Ron made their home in Morris. Their union was blessed with four children: Lynn, Ronda, Kristi, and Bruce. After their children were all in school, Diane worked at the Chokio-Alberta School as a para and worked for Onvoy. In her retirement years, Diane liked to stay active in the community volunteering at the Stevens County Food Shelf and the Assumption Catholic Church.

Her greatest joy was her grandchildren. She loved taking care of them and was always their number one fan; sitting in the front row with her pen and paper, keeping stats. Diane did not want to miss a game, concert, 4-H show, or any other activity her grandchildren participated in. She also “adopted” other players as her grandchildren.

Diane taught her children to cook and bake at a young age and continued this with her grandchildren. She loved to can tomatoes, bake bars, cookies, and pies. She was always asking her grandchildren “what do you want Grandma to bake for you?”

Diane died on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, surrounded by her family at the Courage Cottage in Morris. She was 73 years old.

She is survived by her husband of almost 54 years: Ronald Ritter, Morris, MN; three daughters: Lynn (Randy) Reese, Hancock, MN, Ronda Ritter, and Kristi (Brad) Fehr, all of Morris, MN; one son: Bruce (Dawn) Ritter, Lakeville, MN; 10 grandchildren: Dylan Reese, Alison (Riley) Buck, Tyler, Cole, and Connor Reese, Karly, Cade, and Kyle Fehr, and Payton and Jaxon Ritter; two sisters: Sharon (Ronald) Buntje, Albany, MN, and Janet (Ross) Stark, Fargo, ND; two brothers: Tom (Karen) Torson, Bethel, MN, and Steven (Kay) Andrews, Eloy, AZ; one sister-in-law: Vicky Schmitz, Graceville, MN; and many nieces and nephews. Diane was preceded in death by her parents, Theron, Lorraine and Marvin, and her mother and father-in-law, Alice and Lawrence Ritter.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials are given in Diane’s name to the Courage Cottage.

Pedersen Funeral Home is in care of the funeral arrangements. An online guest book can be signed at www.pedersenfh.com.