Urben Gratz, age 93, of Mott, ND, passed away at the Mott Health Care Center on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 3, 2026 at the St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Mott, ND.

A Rosary and Liturgy of the Word Service will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 2, 2026 at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Mott. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until the start of the Rosary at the church on Friday.

Urben Stephen Gratz was born near Rosebud, North Dakota, on January 29, 1932. He grew up on a farm with his five brothers, Adam, Tom, Alfred, Don, and Eric and one sister, Mildred, near new Salem, North Dakota. Urben and all of his siblings were very involved in sports and music in high school, with Urben's highlights including pitching a "perfect" game (where no opponent batter reaches first base) and playing his first "gig" at age 15 with brothers and acquaintances. Urben attended school and graduated from New Salem High School. He then went on to pursue a music degree at Dickinson State College, paying for tuition with money he made performing at various nightclubs and restaurants in the Dickinson area.

Urben met the love of his life, Irene Pfeiler, and they were married on June 1, 1953, in New Salem, North Dakota. After receiving his degree, he accepted a position as music director in Mott, North Dakota in the fall of 1954. In Mott, they raised their four children, Allen, Jerry, Brian and Karen.

Urben liked to stay busy and as a teacher, he had his summers free. So, he decided to become an entrepreneur and in 1958, Urben built and opened "The Park-In", later known as "The Poolside Drive-In". Urben operated this drive-in for five years and in 1963 sold this business and used the proceeds to further his education in music by attending Colorado State College (now Colorado State University) in Greeley, Colorado for three summers and obtained his master's degree in music. He also kept performing in Mott and the surrounding area.

Urben developed many programs in the music department at Mott. He started a new program called the Café Concert in 1964. This concert has been immensely popular with the students and the whole community and is continuing to be a highlight performance every spring to this day.

Urben retired from teaching in 1975 after 21 years of being music director. He went on to pursue a career in insurance and real estate and enjoyed this until his retirement in 1994. After retiring, Urben and Irene were able to travel and Urben was able to also focus more on his golf game… and could often be found on the course with a bucket of balls, practicing and honing his skills. He was the Mott Club Champion numerous times, spanning several decades.

Urben was deeply committed to the works of the Knights of Columbus organization, serving as Grand Knight for several years, while also enjoying the social camaraderie and card playing. Recently, he had served on the renovation committee for St. Vincents church.

Throughout his life, Urben enjoyed many hobbies which included golfing, gardening, canning and cooking. He also had a very artistic side. He was talented at oil painting, making many craft items and taught himself the fine woodworking art of intarsia. He enjoyed baseball and loved watching his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins.

Over the course of his years, Urben had developed different slogans. When he was younger, his favorite slogan was "One Step At A Time". As he got older, he chose the slogan "Life is Good" and in his latter years as his health and physical abilities were diminishing, he adopted the slogan "The Best Is Yet To Come".

Urben is survived by his brothers Don Gratz and Eric (Sue) Gratz. His four children Allen (Deb) Gratz, Jerry (Kim) Gratz, Brian (Leslie) Gratz and Karen (Brent) Helleckson. His ten grandchildren, Crystalynn (Ward) Larson, Curtis (Keri) Gratz, Nathan (Jennifer) Gratz, Neal (Lindsy) Gratz, Kenneth (Laurie) Gratz, Gabe (Tara) Gratz, Abby (Ryan) Siewert, Aimee (Paul) Morris, Stephanie Helleckson and Jacob Helleckson; and numerous great grandchildren and two great, great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Irene (Pfeiler) Gratz, his parents, Ralph and Gertrude Gratz, brothers Adam Gratz, Alfred Gratz and Tom Gratz and his sister, Mildred (Gratz) Marcotte.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Mott Health Care Center, 401 Millionaire Ave. Ste. A, Mott, ND 58646.