Patty Pretzer
– August 4, 2025
To view a streaming of the service access: https://bethanylutheranchurch58701.com/livestream/
To view the flowers and plants from Patty’s service, click here: Patty Pretzer Flowers
Patty Pretzer, 79, St. Louis Park, MN, formerly of Minot, died Monday, August 4, 2025, in a St. Louis Park, MN hospital.
Patty was born December 29, 1945, in Minot, ND to John and Alice Seright (Kramer). She lived with her parents, paternal grandparents and siblings on a ranch outside of Granville and she graduated from Granville High School in 1963.
Patty married Arlo Pretzer in 1973. They were married until his passing in 2015. They had one daughter together, Nicki. This marriage brought three bonus children into Patty’s life as well: Rhonda, Karen, and James.
Patty worked at Trinity hospital where she and Arlo met. She also worked at Norwest Bank in Minot. She stopped working for a short time to focus on a passion project- The Country Greenhouse. She and her family ran the greenhouse out of their backyard for several years. A majority of Patty’s career was spent working at Town and Country Credit Union where she worked for 26 years and retired in 2012 as the Vice President of Marketing. Patty loved her job and many of her co-workers became close friends. During her time at TCCU she most enjoyed coordinating events and planning and escorting groups of seniors on trips around the country.
After her retirement, Patty spent several years working for Special Olympics, ND as a Regional Director. She absolutely loved working and traveling with the athletes. More than anything she enjoyed watching them compete and succeed with her lifelong best friend Juell Brabandt by her side. The two of them made trips all over North Dakota and beyond. They continued their travels together to beaches and resorts all over the world.
Giving back and helping others was a big part of Patty’s life. She enjoyed being an active community member, by serving on volunteer boards, committees and with a multitude of groups and organizations. She was also a member of Bethany Lutheran Church where she sang in their choir.
The most important thing in Patty’s life was her family. She enjoyed nothing more than hosting gatherings at her house. She especially loved to fill her house with family for Christmas and her backyard pool for Independence Day. She was a master hostess who would spend days preparing food and activities and scrubbing every inch of her house so it could be completely taken over by soaking wet kids in swimsuits and piles of Christmas gifts.
Aunty Pat, as she was lovingly called, thrived in the role and loved all her nieces and nephews. In 1995 a light came into her life when her niece Alice Kephart (Gullekson) was born. The light got a lot brighter with the arrivals of Clare, Anne, Rose and late addition Jack. She loved Jack and the Gullekson girls. She attended every special event and everyday activity with them as she could.
Pat’s granddaughter Willow was born in 2011. She absolutely adored her “tiny girl” so much so that she moved to Minnesota in 2017 so she could be a part of everything Willow did. Willow had her own room at Grandmas and stayed with her often. One of her favorite things was to go to Willow’s hockey games and cheer her on. She froze in hockey rinks all over the Midwest.
Patty’s family includes children, Karen (Darryl) Wesloh, Minneapolis, MN, Jim Pretzer, Bismarck and Nicki (Aaron Goedtke) Pretzer, St Louis Park, MN; grandchildren, Dana (Lisa) Hartleib, Ricky (Jenny) Hartleib, Justin (Alisa) Hartleib, and Willow Goedtke; great grandchildren Maverick, Weston and Gavin Hartleib, Kaden Herrington, Piper and Rylan Hartleib; siblings Cathy (Jim) Bailey, Danny (Deb) Seright, Jeanne (Justin) Gullekson, Mike (Donna) Seright, and Steve (Teresa) Seright and numerous nieces, nephews and many close friends and relatives.
Pat was preceded in death by her parents John and Alice Seright, her sister Mona Kunkel, her husband Arlo Pretzer, and her daughter Rhonda Willenbring.
Celebration of Patty’s Life: 2:00 p.m. Monday, August 11, 2025 at Bethany Lutheran Church with visitation one hour prior to the start of the service at the church. To view a streaming of the service access: https://bethanylutheranchurch58701.com/livestream/
Interment will be at the Granville Cemetery in Granville, ND.
Memorials are preferred to Special Olympics North Dakota.
