Marvel Joy Pietsch , 80, longtime South Prairie area resident, passed away Sunday, February 7, 2010 in a Minot Nursing Home.

Marvel was born June 30, 1929, at Minot, North Dakota, the daughter of Frank and Anna (Lindbloom) Jylen. She was raised on a farm in the South Prairie area and attended Freedom School No. 3. She graduated from Minot Model in 1947. While attending high school, she lived in town and worked for her room and board, which was a common practice for rural students attending Minot Schools at that time.

Marvel furthered her education by attending Nursing School at the Sisters of St. Francis School of Nursing at St. Joseph's Hospital in Minot. She graduated with a degree as a registered nurse in 1951. After becoming a registered nurse, Marvel loved working at St. Joseph's Hospital in the maternity unit with infants. When her children were in high school, she decided to go back to work in nursing and was employed at the Americana (ManorCare) Health Center in Minot as a charge nurse for three years. Marvel was well known as the nurse of South Prairie and would receive phone calls from her neighbors about all types of physical ailments. She enjoyed sharing her nursing knowledge and helping others.

Marvel was united in marriage to Herman Pietsch on November 25, 1951 at Saron Lutheran Church. They were devoted to each other for 47 years until Herman's passing on October 19, 1997. They lived in Minot until 1964, where they moved to the country, one-half mile south of Saron Lutheran Church, in Freedom Township of Ward County, where they continued to make their home throughout the years.

Marvel was a lifetime member of Saron Lutheran Church, where she was baptized, attended Sunday school, confirmed, and married. Marvel's love for children showed through her teaching of Sunday school classes and as a Cub Scout Den mother. Marvel was an exceptional gardener and enjoyed the fruits of her labor by canning and preserving many items from her garden. She enjoyed reading, quilting, knitting and crocheting, making special items for friends and family. Marvel was an avid supporter of wildlife and land conservation by setting aside areas in grass, watering areas and planting thousands of trees and instilled these values in their children.

Her loving family includes : daughter, Jean (Donald) Burke, Minot; sons, John (Joanne) Pietsch, rural Minot, Tim (Christie) Pietsch, rural Minot; grandchildren, Paul Pietsch and Thomas Burke; sister, Eleanor "Nora" Finneseth, Velva, ND.

Marvel was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, Neil, infant daughter, Mary Jo, sisters, Frances Holodnick and Mary Linder, and infant twin brothers.

Funeral service: Friday, February 12, 2010 at 1:30pm in First Lutheran Church, Minot.
Interment: Saron Lutheran Cemetery, Rural Minot, later in the Spring.
Visitation: Thursday from 2:00-7:00pm in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are preferred to the Saron Lutheran Church or its cemetery fund or to the Souris Valley Animal Shelter in Minot.