Mary Dittrich

Private family services for Mary C. Dittrich, age 91, of Norfolk, Nebraska will be held on April 21, 2026. Deacon Tom Hughes will officiate, with interment in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Tilden, Nebraska.

Home for Funerals in Norfolk is in charge of arrangements.

Mary died Thursday, April 16, 2026, at Heritage of Bel Air in Norfolk.

Mary Catherine Dittrich was born January 23, 1935, in Baltimore, Maryland to Joseph and Mildred (Blue) Bauer. 

On September 4, 1954, Mary married Marcellus John Dittrich in Baltimore, Maryland, after a courtship that began at a military dance in the city. They were blessed with four children: John, Denise, Keith, and Suzette. Marcellus and Mary reared their children on a farm south of Meadow Grove where they raised corn, soybeans and registered Charolais cattle. Mary ran a successful pheasant hunting lodge for a time. The couple later divorced and Mary moved to Norfolk.

Mary was gregarious and loved people. She loved gardening and was an avid horticulturist and landscaper. She learned to swim on the Chesapeake Bay as a child and found places for her family to enjoy near the water even in Nebraska.   She instilled in her children a sense of worldliness - always ensuring that the family traveled every year. She always kept up on current events. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Denise McGivern; and two brothers, Joseph (Marie) Bauer and Michael (Judy) Bauer.

Mary is survived her children, John (Jeanne) Dittrich of Meadow Grove, Keith (Tammy) Dittrich of Tilden, and Suzette Dittrich (William Hoffman) of Washington, D.C.; son-in-law, Tom McGivern of Alexandria, VA; grandchildren, Jake (Kelley) Dittrich, Katelyn (Curtis) Pilger, Joshua Dittrich, Claire (Chris) Larson, and Connor McGivern; great-grandchildren, Paul, Raylan, Tenley, Espyn, and Valerie; and nieces and nephews.

Memorials are requested to The American Horticultural Society and The Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation.

Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.homeforfuneralsinc.com.

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