Jacquilynn Bratz, 93, of Garrison, passed away on August 30, 2024, in Garrison.
Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, September 6, 2024, at Thompson Funeral Home, Garrison, ND. Burial to follow at Coleharbor Cemetery.
Visitation will be held from 4:00-6:00 PM on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at Thompson Funeral Home, Garrison, ND.
Jackie was born October 10, 1930, to Byron and Dorothy (Nettestad) Peterson in Pelican Rapids, Mn. She lived there and helped her mother in the Uptown Cafe until 1945 when she and her blended parents (Buell ‘Barney’ and Dorothy Barnes) moved to Coleharbor, ND to start a new cafe. The rumor was there was good money to be made there because of the construction of the Garrison Dam!
She finished her education at Coleharbor High School a year early and at age 18 went to work for the US Army Corps of Engineers at Riverdale thus starting her long federal career. She witnessed the dedication of the Dam by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. In 1950, she was united in marriage to Arnold ‘Pep’ Bratz. They were the first couple to be married in the newly built St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Riverdale. In 1956, they moved to Minot and she worked for the Social Security Administration. Moving back to Coleharbor in 1961, she once again returned to the Corps of Engineers and remained there until her retirement in early 1987. At the time of her retirement, she was the Chief of Real Estate for the Riverdale Field Office. Her federal career spanned nearly 40 years! Upon retirement, they happily moved to Yuma County Foothills and became winter residents for over 30 years. She was privileged to have her retirement years span nearly as many years as her working ones!
Jackie loved to entertain and would frequently host family and friends for delicious meals. Cooking was not always her passion as when she was first married, she only knew how to make 2 things: fruit salad and grilled cheese sandwiches! She loved to dance. She loved all four-legged animals, especially dogs and horses.
She was a resident of the CHI- Garrison 3rd Floor Nursing Facility for the past three years and died there on August 30, 2024.
Survivors include: daughter, Deborah (Roger) Wilson of Garrison, ND and son, Marshall ‘Pete’ Bratz of Ellendale, ND. Her grandchildren are: Hedi (Kevin) Rime, Garrison, Jodi Bratz, Mandan, Nadine Bratz, Bismarck and special granddaughter, Ulrike Metelmann-Geiger of Germany. Great-grandchildren include: Jamison, Isabelle, and Peyton Rime of Garrison, Andrew Miller, Mandan, Gabe Cofer, Mandan and Shelby Kalvoda of New Salem. Also surviving is step-sister Judy Lizotte of Evansville, IN.
She was preceded in death by her husband Pep in 2001.
The family prefers memorials to either the Humane Society of their choice or to the Coleharbor Cemetery Fund where she will be buried next to Pep.
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