Victoria Lynn Petritz, 61

Vickie Lynn Petritz entered Heaven on June 9, 2020. She was surrounded by her loving family at the time of her passing.

Vickie was born on January 9, 1959, to Mary Jo Riley and Mert Riley. She was born and raised for most of her life in Butte, Montana. Vickie attended Longfellow Elementary until 3 ^rd grade. She attended school in San Francisco for one year before moving back to Butte to attend St. Ann's and Butte Central High School. There, she met her one and only true love, Tom (Treaty) Petritz.

Treaty and Vickie married on November 25, 1977. They had three daughters: Kacie, Brianne and Kellie. Vickie was passionate about raising her daughters to be strong, independent women. She modeled this throughout her entire life. Vickie went back to school and graduated from Montana Tech 14 years after having children. She showed her daughters how to be motivated and hardworking. Vickie loved her daughters and always shared how proud she was of them. She talked to her girls every day and was a sounding board even into their adulthood. Vickie and her girls not only had a mother-daughter bond, but they were best friends.

If you asked anyone what Vickie loved most in this world, anyone that knew her would answer "Treaty." Rick (Treaty's nickname for her) and Treaty shared a love that was undeniable. From the time they were 15 years old, they knew they would spend their lives together. It was unusual to see one without the other for the next 42 years. They loved traveling together; some of their favorite trips were to watch their favorite sports teams, annual trips to Hawaii, enjoying the sun in Arizona or even a local camping trip to Georgetown Lake. Treaty even convinced Rick that Jackpot, Nevada was a great place to visit. It truly didn't matter where they were, as long as they were together, they were happy. They even took on the challenge of flipping homes together. Electrical work, roofing, painting, any task at hand was no match for Rick; even when things weren't going well, they loved working alongside one another. The love they had for each other grew stronger every single day.

Vickie also had seven little loves; they were Tucker, Cole, Taylor, Quinn, Logan, Parker and Blake. They were her shining lights, and she adored each one of them. Vickie watched every sporting event, dance recital, holiday school concert they participated in. She babysat them and ran kids around town to practice or class; she enjoyed every minute of it. Vickie loved sharing her amazing sports knowledge with her grandchildren and knew more facts than most; she talked stats, plays or trades with them.

One of Vickie's greatest qualities was her loyalty for the people she loved. She showed this quality with her mother, Mary Jo Riley and sister, Debbie Burns. Vickie loved spending time with her mom and sister. Sunday dinners, vacations or daily visits with her mom and camping or wild getaways with Debbie played a big role in Vickie's life.

Vickie spent most of her career at Highlands College; she was an instructor in the Business Technology department. Vickie loved teaching and every student benefited from her passion. She had many accomplishments at Highlands, but she was excited about the Apprenticeship Program she started there. Days before her passing, she received the Montana Tech's Merit Award recognizing exceptional achievement in teaching and service.

Vickie was grateful for the care she received from her oncologist, Dr. Justin Thomas and the staff at the Bozeman Cancer Center. Justin treated Vickie like his own mother and always made her smile.

Vickie was proceeded in death by her grandparents, Louie and Katie Pochervina; her grandparents, John & Beryl Riley; her uncle, Louie Pochervina; father and mother-in-law, Marty and Kay Petritz; uncle, Bob Laughlin; cousin, Donald Laughlin.

She is survived by her husband, Tom; mother, Mary Jo Riley; father, Mert Riley; daughters, Kacie (Josh) Laslovich, Brianne (Kevin) Regan, Kellie (Buck) Sullivan; grandchildren, Tucker & Cole Laslovich, Taylor, Quinn & Logan Regan, Parker & Blake Sullivan; sister and brother-in-law, Debbie & Craig Burns; aunts, Kathy Pochervina & Margie Laughlin; sister-in-law, Debbie (Mark) Fisher; aunt-in-law, Sharon Heneghan; brother-in-law, Marty (Danene) Petritz; nieces and nephews, Cody Burns, Courtney (Joe) Martinich, Kaeden Fisher, Marty & Bridget Petritz; cousins, David (Mary Anne) Pochervina, Michael (Maria) Pochervina, John Laughlin, Robyn Mantell as well as many great nieces and nephews and close friends from the class of 1977.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Opportunity Bank (3401 Harrison Ave., Butte, Mt, 59701) to the Vickie Petritz Memorial Scholarship fund. Scholarships will be given to students at Highlands College of Montana Tech.

A funeral service will take place on Monday, June 15 ^th at St. Ann's Catholic Church. Visitation begins at 1 pm and mass will be at 2 pm.