Joyce K. Tretbar

Joyce K. Tretbar, age 62, a life- long Osage-Ponsford, MN area resident, passed from this life to eternal life on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at the St. Joseph's Hospital in Park Rapids, MN with her loved ones at her side after waging a valiant battle against cancer. Joyce was born on October 3, 1952 in Detroit Lakes, MN to Darild and Betty (Anderson) Tyge. She grew up on her parent's farm on the Ponsford Prairie and attended the Osage Public School through the sixth grade. She went on to attend high school in Park Rapids and at the age of 16, began working part-time as a waitress for Wimpy's Café in Park Rapids. On July 14, 1973, Joyce was united in marriage to Terry Tretbar in an outdoor ceremony held on Straight Lake in Osage. They were blessed with two daughters, Janet and Christy. Joyce devoted her life to making a loving home for her husband and daughters. She was a wonderful cook and baker who will be long remembered for her delicious homemade fudge, brownies, venison steaks, liver and onions with her famous mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. Joyce loved cooking up wonderful meals for family get-togethers. She also enjoyed organizing and cooking for benefit dinners for anyone in need of help. In addition to caring for her family, Joyce worked for many years as a waitress for Carl and Eva Beck at the Osage Bait & Tackle Café. In 1977, she became the very first employee hired to work at Lorelei Studios in Osage in a career that spanned over 20 years. Later, she worked at Doc's Truckstop as a waitress for a number of years. Her working career returned her to OBT in Osage where she enjoyed working for Peggy Branstrom as a cook until her cancer diagnosis forced her into retirement this summer. In her spare time, Joyce loved to crochet blankets which she gave as gifts to dozens of family members and friends. She welcomed many new babies into the world with a crocheted baby blanket. She loved watching classic old westerns on television and also enjoyed feeding and watching the wildlife that graced their property. She loved her grandchildren with all her heart and was especially proud of her eldest grandson, Brady who as a US Army Ranger, spent four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. She prayed for him daily and lived for his next phone call. She enjoyed playing scratch offs with her grandchildren and challenging them to a game of Yahtzee whenever she could. She was always up for a casino outing with her sister, JoAnne and loved mothering and looking after her little brother, Dale. Above all, Joyce dedicated her life to her husband, Terry; her daughters; her precious grandchildren and her great grandson, Jack and was very much anticipating the birth of a new great grandchild in April. She will be lovingly remembered by her husband for these past 42 years, Terry of Osage; her daughters: Janet (Cory) Wolf of Bismarck, ND and Christy (Kevin) Byer of Osage; her five grandchildren: Brady, Samantha and Logan Wolf, Connor and Kortne Byer and her great grandson, Jack Wolf; her mother-in-law, Margie Tretbar of Osage; a sister, JoAnne (Gene) Weiss of Park Rapids; three brothers: Dale Tyge of Detroit Lakes, Randy (Sheila) Tyge of Ponsford and Scott (Michele) Tyge of Detroit Lakes; a half-sister, Patti (Warren) Strom of Chicago; as well as many nieces and nephews. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents and three cousins: Rodney, Shelly and Sherie. Funeral services will be held 1 PM Thursday, September 10, 2015 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Park Rapids with Pastor John Johannes officiating. Her casket bearers will be: Brady Wolf, Connor Byer, George Buck, Reggie Weiss, Jeff Weiss and Jeff Tretbar. Interment will be made in the St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery near Osage. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 PM Wednesday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. To leave on line condolences or to view the video tribute, please visit www.jonespearson.com