Tillie Kuntz

Tillie Kuntz, 91, passed away on April 28, 2024, three months after her beloved husband of 72 years, Stanley, passed away. Tillie gave her best effort but was unable to recover from the complications of a fall in her home and the heartbreak of losing her lifelong love and companion.  

Tillie was literally the salt of the earth, honest, hardworking, and caring for all those around her, especially her family and 11 children. Everyone was welcome in her home and on the Belfield farm – a special and Godly regular gathering place for family, friends, neighbors, workers, and whoever happened to stop by.  She was a gracious, yet powerful woman. A prayer warrior with immense faith and abundantly kind heart. Everyone who stepped into her home had a fresh cup of coffee, a meal or her infamous poppyseed roll. But more so, they left a better person in Tillie’s presence.    

Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Day by day, Tille did small things with great joy and great love; she touched the lives of so many through her presence, her thought-filled actions, and selfless demonstrations of genuine care and compassion.

Born on August 25, 1932, to Joseph and Bertha (Armburst) Fisher, Tillie, her four brothers (Joe, Frank, John, and Albert), and three sisters (Florence Erickson, Rosemary Berger, and Ann Huschka) were raised on a farm near Schefield, North Dakota. She attended school through eighth grade at a country school near her childhood farm. Tillie loved her brothers and sisters. Their conversations were richly laced with stories, banter, and laughter over fond childhood memories.

Tillie married Stanley Kuntz on November 13, 1951, and settled on a farm south of Belfield. For 72 years the family farm was their heart and soul. It’s where they raised and nurtured 11 children, grew small grains, raised pork, stock cattle, chickens, gathered dozens of eggs, operated a butcher shop, and milked dairy cows. The farm was where they gave thanks for everyday blessings and prayed their way through every high and low of life. 

Tillie saw and brought joy into all aspects of her life. But her greatest joys were her 11 children: Dan-Bismarck (Mary), Joan Cave-Great Falls (Tom), Ray-Helena (Susie), Joyce Stewart-Seattle, Pat-Reno, Bill (Shelly)-Bismarck, Larry-Helena (Jamie), Ted-Reno, Janel Keating-Hambly-Seattle (Jay), Roy-Kirkland (Diana), and Wally-Moville, IA (Pam). She was their most loyal cheerleader, and nobody worried more about them than Tillie. She shed tears when they left home and requested a phone call to tell her they were safely home. Tillie’s heart smiled whenever any of her 18 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren visited or called. She always remembered something special about each one. 

Tillie loved flowers, whether giving them, receiving them, planting them, or admiring them from afar, the beauty and bright colors brought her calm and joy throughout her life.

Tillie had an unmatched work ethic and loved gardening. She had an extraordinary green thumb and grew, canned, and froze fruits and vegetables that fed her family and the community. She was also an amazing cook. Her breads, soups, and pastries were coveted and often requested. Her children loved the tasty lunches she packed each day and the Easter care packages (that included Stanley’s summer sausage and her homemade Easter bread) she sent them in college. Family members are happy to have in writing some of her favorite recipes because if you watched her making those dishes, you saw only a flurry and a dash, a pinch, or a smidgen of this and that.

Tillie loved the holidays. Even when times were tough, she made them special and memorable for her children. Today, her love of those times lives on in her children’s homes, where the traditions continue for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Tillie adored dressing up. She taught her children to “dress for success” even when they were going to the local grocery store. To the end of her life, she enjoyed the gift of a new winter sweater or bright springtime blouse.

Tillie was an avid reader. Her favorite time of the month was when the bookmobile stopped in Belfield. She always came home with a tower of books and read them all of them before the month ended. 

Tillie loved football and enjoyed many NFL games with family and friends. Her all-time favorite player was John Elway, Denver Broncos quarterback. On February 11, 2024, she watched her last Super Bowl.

Tillie loved embroidery, knitting, and quilting. She made a baby blanket for each of her grandchildren and many more for friends and relatives. If she heard someone was having a baby, she would say, “That baby is going to need a blanket.” 

Most of all, Tillie loved St. Bernard’s Parish family and the Belfield community. She enjoyed being a member of the May Guild. She contributed to many yearly church bazaars by making homemade chicken noodle soup. For 40 years, she had a church hour on Friday afternoons at St. Bernard’s and her children certainly benefited from her prayers and the nightly rosaries she and Stanley prayed. In addition, she treasured attending her monthly birthday club and visiting friends.

Tillie is preceded in death by Stanley, her husband, Joseph and Bertha, her parents, Bill, her son, Bill Stewart, her son-in-law, and her four brothers, Joe, Frank, John, and Albert Fisher. 

The family hopes that as you remember Tillie, you might be inspired by her life – be that her enduring love and compassion for others, her work ethic, her faith, her commitment to family and community, love of reading, and her value of what is simple and honest.

We hope through your memory or knowledge of her life, you might embrace or deepen these qualities in yourself and those around you – making the world a better and brighter place as she did.

Visitation for Tillie will be 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. on May 24, 2024, at Stevenson Funeral Home in Dickinson, ND with a prayer service taking place at 6:00 p.m.

The Memorial Service for Tillie will be held May 25, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Bernard’s Church in Belfield. Burial will follow at St. Bernard’s Catholic Cemetery. A luncheon will follow in the parish hall. All are invited to attend. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Bernard’s Guild Fund, 402 3rd Ave NE, Belfield, ND 58622, or Carroll College Facilities Building Fund, 1601 N Benton Ave, Helena, MT 59625.