Joan Phyllis Tracy

Joan (Jan) Phyllis Tracy, 90, of Bismarck, passed away on June 17, 2019 after a brief illness.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am Tuesday, June 25, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with Rev. Jenny Hallenbeck Orr officiating. Burial will be at Glencoe Cemetery.

She was born December 30, 1928 to Selden Tracy and Flora (Macdonald) Tracy. Her early life was spent in Braddock, North Dakota along with her beloved siblings--Helen, Scott, and Peg, until the family moved to Grand Forks. She graduated from Grand Forks Central High School and continued her education, completing a degree in Dietetics from the University of North Dakota. From there she completed several internships, including one at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon. She was employed in the dietetics programs at hospitals and finally ended up working for the state of North Dakota for many years in the Maternal and Child Health Division.

She loved her work and became a resource and a mentor to many young people over the course of her entire career. She played a significant role in bringing the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutritional program into the state. Joan was also the recipient of the very first Outstanding Dietitian of the Year award, issued by the North Dakota Dietetic Association.

The same care, concern, and empathy she showed to her clients at work was also replicated in her personal life. She volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House shortly after they opened in 1992 and spent every Wednesday there until the winter of 2018! She also spent many hours volunteering at the Hodge Podge thrift store. She was well known for her hospitality to friends, family, and co-workers and her home was always open to travelers, where they would be welcomed with a delicious meal and a comfortable bed. Her numerous nieces and nephews have fond memories of the days they spent at “Aunt Jan’s house”.

She was loving and talented, an amazing seamstress who created gorgeous quilts for family and friends and found yet another creative outlet in making beautiful hooked rugs, many of which found their way into the homes of her relatives. Her incredibly thin and delicious sugar cookies were a family legend...one which will be hard to recreate.

After her passing, one of her nieces memorialized Joan by writing this: “...Today this beautiful woman left us. She has now joined us as our guardian angel. Jan never had children of her own, yet we were all her children---nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and great-great-nieces and nephews. As her health declined we all reflected on what she meant to us. She was loving and nurturing...and had a profound impact on all who knew her...she was a selfless person who just really loved us all with her whole heart…”

Her true legacy to her remaining family, though, is one of the love, support, and encouragement she showed to each and every one of us. She will be greatly missed by all.

She is survived by numerous beloved nieces and nephews, her brother-in-law Alf Hulteng; and dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Ellen Tracy; her sister and brother-in-law, Helen and William Joersz; her sister, Peg Hulteng; her sister Roberta Tracy; and her nephew, Richard Joersz.

Memorials may be sent to the Ronald McDonald House Charities or to the charity of one’s choice.