Memorial Service for Robert T. Fitch, 85, of Hettinger, ND will be Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hettinger Lutheran Church. Rev. Kathleen Dettmann will officiate and burial with Military Honors will follow at the Hettinger Cemtery. A family gathering will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

Robert Tracy Fitch was born March 13, 1927 to Tracy and Jettie
(Collicot) Fitch in Hettinger ND, twenty minutes after his "older" twin sister Dorothy. He loved to tease her that she was older. He
attended Hettinger Public School and graduated in 1945. Bob served in the US Army and was stationed in post war Japan, working as a company clerk in the Dai Ichi Building where Gen. MacArthur had his office. Following the service he returned to Hettinger and worked for Austad's, driving truck and then at the family business, Fitch Motor Company, with his father and Uncle Lowell.


On June 2, 1951, he was united in marriage to Beverly Gunderson, his high school sweetheart, with whom he was married for 47 years. To this union two children, Jane and Scott, were born. In 1958, following the fire at Fitch Motor, Bob and his father opened Bob Fitch Standard
Service on the west end of Hettinger. They also farmed west of town. In 1978, Bob and Beverly sold the station to farm and ranch full time, after they purchased the Gunderson homestead in Lodgepole, SD. He and Bev enjoyed the time they spent in Lodgepole and later traveling.
Beverly died unexpectedly in 1998. Bob retired from ranching and farming in 2002. Shirley Smolnikar became a very important person in Bob's life and the entire Fitch family.


Robert was active in the Hettinger Cowboy Band, Hettinger Fire Department, and Hettinger Masons and Shriners with both his father, Tracy, and son, Scott. He was very proud of this three generation legacy. Bob was a Past Master of Masons. He was a member of Hettinger Lutheran Church. He enjoyed golfing and hunting. Those who knew him well will certainly miss his mischievous antics and his teasing, especially his grandchildren. Robert moved into Western Horizons Care Center, Hettinger ND in June 2010. He died there on October 12, 2012 at the age of 85.


Grateful for having shared his life are his daughter, Jane Fitch
Meszaros and her children, Molly Jane and Joseph and his wife Lindsey; his son Scott and wife LeAnn, and their children Alissa and Kane, Alexis, Tanner, Mackenzie and Tatum; two great grandsons, Tyler and Bentley; and his very special friend, Shirley Smolnikar and her daughter, Karla. He is also survived by his sister, Dorothy and her husband Gene, and cousin Virginia Walby; 13 nieces and nephews and many other relatives and friends.


He was preceded in death by his parents, and his wife Beverly. Memorials may be given to the Beverly and Robert Fitch Memorial
Scholarship Fund at Hettinger High School.