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Mavis Witchey, 90, of Webster, passed away Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Bethesda Home with her sons, Joe, John and best friend, Margaret by her side.
Memorial services were held 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, at the United Methodist Church in Bristol. Inurnment was at Prairie Mound Cemetery near Butler. Per Mavis’ request, please dress in casual attire and bright colors, no black!
Mavis Elaine Witchey was born on Sept. 19, 1934, on a farm near Butler to Arthur and Ellen (Buchele) Petrich. She was the youngest of three children. She attended country school and Butler school in the early grades and graduated from Bristol High School. She then went to work at Benson Optical in Aberdeen. That’s when she met her future husband, Earl. It was the summer of 1953; he was driving his new car around with a couple of friends when he spotted Mavis and her friends. The guys asked the girls if they wanted to take a ride and Mavis whispered to her friends “I get the driver”, and they drove around that evening. Earl returned almost every night after that, and they were shortly united in marriage on Dec. 12, 1953. To this union six children were born, five boys and one girl.
In the early years Mavis was a housewife and mother, raising children and caring for her husband and home. In the mid 1970’s when the kids were older, Mavis began working as a presser at a dry cleaner in Aberdeen for a few years. Later when Mavis and Earl moved to Huron, she worked as a CNA in a nursing home until her retirement. In 1997 Mavis and Earl moved back to Bristol. After Earl passed away in 2018, Mavis moved to Heritage Village and would remain there until six months before her passing, when she moved to Bethesda Home. Mavis was a member of the United Methodist Church of Bristol.
Mavis is survived by son, Joe (Peachie) Witchey, grandson, Tyler (Jamie) Witchey, son, John (Alyssa) Witchey, granddaughter Chloe Witchey, best friend Margaret McKittrick, long term caregiver and friend Deha Ponce, along with all her dear friends in Heritage Village.
Mavis was preceded in death by her parents, husband Earl, eldest son Ron, her brother Virgil, and sister Lorraine.