Mary Joyce Dituri

 Mary Joyce Wildschutz was born in Huron, South Dakota to August Nicholas Wildschutz and Sylvia Marie Nelson on November 29, 1934. Her family moved to Seattle, Washington, when she was very young and then to Los Angeles, California.

 She attended Franklin High School in Los Angeles, California. At fifteen, she met her future husband, Benedetto, at St. Ignatius Church in Los Angeles. They were married in the same church on January 31, 1953.

 They lived in Paramount, California, from 1953 to 1972 and then moved to a 540-acre farm near Ford, Washington, to more freely attend the Traditional Latin Mass. There, they built their own home and lived there from 1972 to 2007.

 Benedetto and Mary Joyce attended Mass in Spokane, Washington, with a handful of Catholics in Fr. Edward DeBusschere’s makeshift basement chapel, which the congregation soon outgrew. Father DeBusschere's little mission in Spokane led to the establishment of the Immaculate Conception Church and Academy in Post Falls. 

In 1972, just after moving to Washington State, Mary Joyce took a train to North Dakota for an ordination ceremony and met Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, with whom she shared a birthday. She had very good memories of his kindness and treasured a photo taken of them after she served him at the ordination banquet.

 In 2005, Benedetto and Mary Joyce made a pilgrimage to Rome with some of their grandchildren, and in 2012, Mary Joyce went on a pilgrimage to La Salette and Lourdes with one of her daughters. These pilgrimages reflect her great love for the Catholic Church and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 To attend daily Mass and have easier access to the Sacraments at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, they moved to Post Falls, Idaho, in 2007 and lived happily together in their retirement until her death on October 14 th , 2024.

  In nearly seventy-two years of faithful marriage, God blessed them with nine children, 54 grandchildren, around 200 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. Two of her grandsons are Catholic Priests, and a great-granddaughter is a Benedictine nun.

 Mary Joyce attended her last Mass and received her last Holy Communion on October 13, 2024, the 107th anniversary of the final apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun. She had a great love for Our Lady of Fatima. She kept a very large statue of Our Lady of Fatima in her room, prayed Fatima's prayers daily, and religiously prayed her daily rosary.

 After suffering a major stroke, she returned her soul to God on October 14, 2024, at 89 years of age, with her Rosary in hand and surrounded by her family praying the rosary. She died after receiving Extreme Unction wearing her Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal. This silver Miraculous Medal and its chain were a gift from Benedetto in 1952, over a year before they exchanged wedding vows. She wore the same Miraculous Medal on the same chain every day for nearly 73 years. Benedetto said that people often commented on the beautiful medal she wore.

 She is survived by her husband, Benedetto Dituri, and all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her great desire was that her descendants would love Holy Mother Church, the Holy Mass, wear the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal, and pray the Rosary daily.

 May She Rest in Peace