Florence Christine Pritz-Olson, 98, longtime Minot resident, died on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, in a Minot healthcare center.
Florence was born May 8, 1914, in Donnybrook, to Charles and Florence (Gooderham) McKenzie. She was reared and attended elementary school in Minot where the family moved in 1917, attended All Saints Girls School in Sioux Falls, S.D., for two years, and graduated from Minot High School in 1932.
Florence married Ralph Pritz on March 1, 1933, in Minot. She attended the Kree International Institute of Electrolysis in New York City prior to practicing electrolysis in Minot for 34 years. She was the co-founder of the Electrolysis Association of North Dakota and was instrumental in establishing state licensing requirements. Ralph Pritz died on Sept. 1, 1980.
Florence married Gene Olson on Aug. 15, 1985, in St. Paul, Minn. They made their home in Minot where Gene managed Sunset Memorial Gardens. Gene died on Dec. 11, 2002. Florence resided at Edgewood Vista for several years prior to entering ManorCare Health Services in 2010. The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the staff at ManorCare for the care given to their mother and grandmother.
Florence was a longtime member of the Minot Area Business and Professional Women's Organization and a charter member of the Minot Gerties, a social club formed in 1933. She was a member of the Elkettes and First Presbyterian Church. She especially enjoyed traveling and politics.
Florence's loving family includes: her daughters, Paulette Casey, of Bellingham, Wash., and Barbara (James) Stanton, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; stepdaughter, Yvonne Lindblad, of Fargo; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Betty McKenzie, of Minot; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Ralph Pritz and Gene Olson; sister, Kathryn Armstrong; and brother, Donald McKenzie.
Celebration of the life of Florence Pritz-Olson: Friday, Aug. 3, at 11 a.m., in First Presbyterian Church, Minot.
Interment will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Minot.
Visitation: Thursday, Aug. 2, from 2 to 5 p.m., in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are preferred to Breast Cancer Awareness.
Those wishing to sign the online memorial register or share memories and condolences are invited to use the expressions of sympathy section at (www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com).
