Janice Pollreisz, 72, of Mitchell, SD, died Sunday, April 25, 2021, at her home under hospice care in Mitchell. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM Friday, April 30, 2021 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mitchell. Burial will be at Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery in Ethan. Visitation will be from 5-7:00 PM Thursday, April 29 at Bittner Funeral Chapel. Arrangements by Bittner Funeral Chapel.
Janice Joan (Graves) Pollreisz was born to Frank and Evelyn Graves on October 22nd, 1948 in Parkston SD. She grew up in rural Ethan with siblings, Ron (Gloria) Graves – Spearfish, Bruce (Vicky) Graves – Mitchell, Dennis (Carol) Graves – Ethan, Gloria (Tim) Stach – Mitchell, Sharyn (Jim) Schladweiler – Mitchell, and Wendy Tiede – deceased. Jan spent a good portion of the time that South Dakota weather allowed in Ethan Lake entertaining herself and learning about life.
Jan attended country school and high school in Ethan. She married Robert Pollreisz on November 24th, 1966. They lived the farm life in the Ethan Area until 1984 when they decided to give city-living a try and moved to Mitchell. Jan worked at Allen’s Restaurant and Mitchell Livestock until 2004 when she retired.
Jan loved all aspects of the outdoors. She enjoyed gardening and her yard became a showcase of plants, flowers, and a bountiful vegetable garden. She also loved to camp and hunt and enjoy nature with her family. Her two sons, Scott and Greg, came to love and appreciate the outdoors just as Jan did. It is a fair bet that any family gathering includes at least one hunting or fishing story, exaggerated or not, with Jan either encouraging or humoring them along.
Jan liked to travel and see the sights. Together, Bob and Jan would sometimes just get in the car and see where the trip and the sights took them – with Jan often encouraging Bob to take a photo of whatever caught her eye along the way.
Morning coffee was a staple for Jan, and you could usually find her at home sitting in the sunroom or on the patio sipping a cup while watching the birds and whatever else happened to wander into the yard. If she wasn’t there, it would be safe to assume she was out on one of her daily, treasured walks searching out the wildlife.
If you knew Jan, you knew that she took great pride in her home. Along with a beautiful yard, she had so many unique decorations around the house. Jan and Bob spent a lot of time together turning Jan’s visions for every day, ordinary objects into beautiful décor that she proudly displayed.
Jan is greatly missed and will be forever and fondly remembered by family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Robert – Mitchell and sons, Scott (Katie) Pollreisz – Mitchell, and Greg (Amy) Pollreisz – Pierre. She was blessed with 3 granddaughters: Taylor (Tyler) Gonzales – Brighton, CO and Paige and Addison Pollreisz – Pierre.