Evangeline "Vangie" Spitzer, 89, of Napoleon, ND, passed away peacefully surrounded by love on November 3, 2022, at the Napoleon Care Center. Due to the weather, funeral services will be rescheduled to Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 10:30 AM at Napoleon United Methodist Church. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral service. Burial will be held at Hope Cemetery, NE of Napoleon. A recording of Vangie's funeral will be available on the funeral home website after the service.

Vangie was born on March 1, 1933, to Gottfried and Edna (Boschee) Woehl. At the age of 4, she moved with her parents to the city of Wishek, ND, where she grew up the eldest of six children. She graduated from Wishek High School and attended Ellendale Normal & Industrial College, after which she taught in a one-room country school for one year. On August 26, 1951, she married Orville Ketterling and joined him on the Ketterling family farm 10 miles south of Streeter which had been homesteaded by Orville's grandfather in 1891. There they lovingly raised six children including Keith (Jan) Ketterling, Bismarck, ND; Karen (Jeff) Dahl, Gackle, ND; Kathy (Craig) Rysavy, Ottertail, MN; Kent (Monica) Ketterling, Elk Grove, CA; Kimberly (Scott) Bares, Lakeville, MN; and Kristi (Jamie) Entzi, Mandan, ND.

In 1984, Vangie suffered the loss of her husband Orville to cancer after 33 years of marriage. Vangie drew on her strong faith in God and persevered through her grief to rebuild her life. She rented out her farmland and moved into Streeter with her youngest daughter in 1988. She re-entered the job market after taking courses to learn to type, use a computer, and do bookwork. She greatly enjoyed her work at the Gackle Senior Center assisting with activities and providing rides for medical appointments. In June 1990, Vangie married Emil Zimmerman of Napoleon, ND and expanded her family to include Emil's children Arlyce Vogel, Arlinda (Keith) Kristjanson, Lyle (Faith) Zimmerman, and Judy (Mark) Grewatz. Emil and Vangie enjoyed their first winter together in Mesa, AZ; however, three months after returning to ND, Emil passed away. Vangie again relied heavily on her faith to sustain her and garnered the strength to rebuild after losing her second husband. She expanded on her excellent cooking skills, assisting with preparing special menus at the Judge's Chamber in Napoleon. After it closed, she became a transit driver for the Napoleon Senior Center providing rides to the elderly. She also found a path forward with the Beginning Experience grief support group, which she credited for teaching her to remain open to loving again. Vangie began carpooling to the group in Jamestown with a long-time acquaintance from Streeter who had also lost his spouse to cancer. Vangie insisted it only made sense to carpool to save gas, but those car rides and shared experiences of loss blossomed into a strong love and partnership that sustained her for the rest of her life. On Valentine's Day 1998, Vangie married Berthold Spitzer in a country church on the Selmer Spitzer ranch south of Dawson. Vangie joined Bert on the Spitzer farm west of Streeter that Bert's grandfather had purchased in the early 1900s. Once again Vangie expanded her family to become a second mom to Bert's sons Mark and Bruce Spitzer. Vangie and Bert greatly enjoyed their life together on the farm during the summers and were blessed to spend 20 winters together in Mesa, Arizona, where they made many wonderful friends.

Reflecting her Germans from Russia heritage, Vangie spoke German fluently and was a tireless worker with remarkable common sense and intellect. She spent countless hours milking cows, working in the fields, maintaining a household, raising six children, cooking scrumptious meals, sewing and crocheting, and grew a huge garden every year with lots of produce to can and share with neighbors. Vangie held numerous leadership positions in the Streeter and Napoleon United Methodist Churches, in her Homemakers Club, and in her children's 4H Club. Although Vangie didn't know much about sports, she always attended the "big" games and cheered on her children. No one left her house hungry, and she spent most Saturday mornings making her legendary caramel rolls, knoephla soup, and other German dishes her family relished. She even earned the title of Logan County Champion Kuchen Queen on more than one occasion.  One of Vangie's greatest joys, and perhaps her greatest legacy, are her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whose pictures and artwork were proudly displayed in her home. Vangie was an avid collector of angel figurines which will be lovingly gifted to them as a reminder that she now resides with the angels in heaven.

Vangie is survived by her beloved husband Bert, 6 children and 6 step-children, 17 grandchildren and 10 step-grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 15 step-great grandchildren, siblings DeLane Woehl, Eileen Yenney, Diana Veil, Jim (Sue) Woehl, sister-in-law El Vira (Lowell) Greuel, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, infant sister Elices, brother Milo, husbands Orville and Emil, son-in-law Rodney Schmidt, and step grandchild Dean Vogel as well as numerous brothers and sisters-in-law.

Thank you to the staff at the Napoleon Care Center for providing such excellent care to Vangie. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Napoleon Methodist Church or the Streeter Hope Cemetery.