James (Jim) William Witt, 79, passed away peacefully on July 11, 2018, at Good Samaritan Society – Comforcare in Austin, Minnesota.

Jim was born on June 24, 1939, in Dodge Center, Minnesota, to William and Audrey (Eastman), the second of five children. He attended Dodge Center Schools and graduated from Dodge Center High School in 1957. He married Delores Kittleson in 1960 and they raised three children in Austin. They had been married 58 years when Jim passed away.

Jim worked in the Dairy industry, spending several years working for Golden Dairy, then moved to Sampson Dairy, where he became the Albert Lea and Austin regional manager. He left Sampson Diary in 1999 and worked at Ankeny Mini-Mart No. 5 until 2017. Jim always said he never had a job he didn’t like.

Jim enjoyed visiting area casinos, going for scenic drives, and maintaining an immaculate yard, in which he took great pride, with his wife, Blondie. He was an avid sports fan, enjoying the Minnesota Vikings, Twins and Gophers as well as Nascar. He loved spending time with family at their Leech Lake camper and, in recent years, enjoyed watching the great-grandchildren in their sports activities and telling his morning coffee group all about them.

He will be missed by his wife, Dee (Blondie); their three children, Patti (Mike) Ankeny, Austin, Mike (Peggy) Witt, Byron, Minnesota, and Ron (Jill Hewitt) Witt, Owatonna, Minnesota; nine grandchildren, Crissy Busker (Tom Christgau), Jennifer (Dustin) Jacobsen, Ben (Liz) Ankeny, Tiffany (Willie) Granholm, Nate (Liza) Witt, Emily Witt, Katie Witt, Deryck Witt and Rayce Witt; 10 great-grandchildren; his siblings, Tom Witt, New Hope, Minnesota, LaVonne (Duane) Schwier, Wykoff, Minnesota, Sandy Carroll, Rochester, Minnesota, and Nancy Kaasa, Ohio;  mother-in-law, Evelyn Kittleson, Rochester; and brother-in-law, Larry (Joyce) Kittleson, Hastings, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Audrey; and his father-in-law, Henry “Ole” Kittleson.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 19, 2018, at Queen of Angels Catholic Church with Father Gregory Leif officiating. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the service at Queens of Angels Catholic Church. Clasen Jordan Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.