Nicholas Peter Bitzan

Nicholas P. Bitzan age 89 of Millerville died on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at the St. Cloud Hospital. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11:00 AM on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Millerville. Visitation will be from 5-8 PM with Parish Prayers at 7 PM with a Knights of Columbus Rosary to follow prayers, on Monday, March 9, 2015 at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Millerville; and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Nicholas (Nick) Peter Bitzan, 89, died Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at the St. Cloud Hospital after a battle with Farmer’s Lung and a tired heart. Nicholas was born in Millerville on December 6, 1925 to Joseph and Barbara (Hockert) Bitzan. He grew up on his parent’s farm in Millerville, where he lived for the rest of his life. Nicholas was baptized and confirmed at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Millerville. He attended the parochial school in Millerville through the 8th grade. He then attended Brandon High School graduating as Valedictorian of his class in 1944. After Nick graduated from high school, he was drafted into the US Army. He boarded the train, but by the time the train reached Sauk Centre, the draft board rescinded their decision and gave Nick a farm deferment allowing him to return home and work on the family farm. One of Nick’s favorite pastimes was playing baseball. He played for the Millerville Millers Baseball Team. He was their “official” center fielder and was relied upon to hit homeruns. Another activity that was enjoyed by Nick was his love of hunting. He was an avid deer hunter, and actually just stopped hunting the last couple of years. In his younger days, Nick would join a group of guys and headed up to the Park Rapids area for a week long deer camp. The family always wondered how much hunting this group of guys really did, as there were some years they returned home with NO deer. Nick’s desire in life was to be a great farmer and he was very successful in that pursuit. He devoted his entire life to milking cows and farming the land. The family grew many crops throughout the years and as time went on Nick marveled at how modern farming practices came into being – sometimes very hesitant to believe that modernization was the best way! Nick was also very adept at keeping track of farming statistics. Records were documented for bushels/acre, amount of rain/year, number of days til the first frost, how high the corn should be by the 4th of July ~ as well as numerous others. Nick could have written a version of The Farmer’s Almanac and would have been “spot on”. Nick was a 70 year member of the Millerville Council of the Knights of Columbus, joining this organization in 1945. Nicholas is survived by his twin brothers, Clement Bitzan and Cletus Bitzan, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Nicholas was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Arnold Bitzan, his sister Odilia (Odie) Roers and sisters-in-law, Cyrilla Bitzan and Rose Alice Bitzan.

Nicholas Peter Bitzan

December 6, 1925 - March 4, 2015