The beautiful contralto voice of Deanna Margaret (Fitch) Monson joined God’s heavenly choir on March 24, 2026. Deanna (Dee) was born in 1939 at the Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis, to Olive and Arthur Fitch. She grew up as a beautiful and spirited tomboy playing in the mud in her mom’s starched Shirley Temple dresses with her natural curls, a tell-tale grin, and a bullseye aim with a pistol or bow & arrow, target practicing with her father and winning archery tournaments throughout Iowa and the Midwest.

Dee shared the Fitch household with three younger sisters, Donna, Delores (Kit), and Debi. She delighted her sisters, parents, and audiences with her contralto singing voice and graduated from Richfield High School. She was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with a double major in Psychology and Sociology.

Dee auditioned and earned a place in the college’s top choir as just a freshman. She was a contralto soloist with Concordia’s choir and had the thrill of touring on their first month-long, 39-concert tour through Norway, Germany, Holland, Denmark, and Austria in 1958 under the direction of Paul J. Christianson.

Dee’s late husband, Rev. Paul O. Monson, fell in love with Deanna the first time he heard her sing, and their love grew by the lilac bushes of Prexy’s Pond on Concordia College’s Moorhead campus. He hitchhiked for chances to hear her solos when the college choir went on tour in the States.

They were married just a month after Dee’s senior solo recital and college graduation, and then they moved to St. Paul, MN, where Dee worked at the MN State Capital while Paul attended Luther Northwestern Seminary. They welcomed their son, Todd, during Paul’s year of internship in Sandusky, Ohio, and their daughter Lisa was born two years later when they were in Paul’s first year of full-time ministry in Mondovi, Wisconsin. For most of Todd & Lisa’s growing up years, their family was in ministry at First English Lutheran Church in Faribault, MN (1970 – 1988).

Dee’s boundless love of children, matched with her love of music, answered the need for an elementary music teacher in the community of Rosholt, Wisconsin, where she made a difference for children of all abilities, teaching them to express themselves musically. 

When they moved from Rosholt, WI to Faribault, MN in 1970, Dee became a full-time social worker for Rice County, making a difference by bringing help and hope to adults and families in need. After several years, she took on additional responsibilities to become the Director of Admissions and Marketing for the Constance Bultman Wilson Center, a residential psychiatric hospital for adolescents in Faribault, and she travelled throughout the United States to market the Center’s groundbreaking therapies and coordinated collaborative evaluations for clients and their families at the Wilson Center.  

At Paul & Dee’s remote & rustic cabin on a border lake between Minnesota & Canada, over the course of 20+ years, she realized a deep love of the outdoors and of fishing – from a boat in the summer and through the ice in the winter. Her spunk & fiercely independent streak showed when she adventured on some solo trips to their cabin, portaging in on a 9-mile walk, or when driving or flying for long marketing trips and conventions, or using her CB radio in communication with long haul truck drivers for advice to help her “make good time” on the road.

Throughout her life, Dee’s kindness emanated from her to both people and animals. She was an animal whisperer – and it was well-known that if you were a dog, you would wish to be in her care, for you would be well-loved and lack for nothing. We know there will be joyous reunions with her “fur babies” who were so important to Dee that she included them in her healthcare directive.

Dee rode horses as a kid on her uncle’s farm, and after starting her job at the Wilson Center, she realized a lifelong dream to own a horse & joyously purchased an Arabian horse she named “Spirit Maker.” Dee and “Spirit” won ribbons at horse shows in halter and Western dressage riding.  

After 30 years of marriage, and shortly after moving to Edina, Dee and Paul divorced in 1991, but both said their best accomplishment together was to raise their two children with love. Dee moved to Mound, MN, and worked in the admissions departments for Rasmussen University and later for Presbyterian Homes. She was also an independent caregiver in private homes, providing social visits and social outings to families’ loved ones in need. 

In 2014, Dee moved to Riverbend Memory Care Assisted Living in Amery after experiencing a broken wrist requiring surgical repair; this injury catapulted her into the throes of Alzheimer’s onset Dementia. Dee’s family has always been grateful for Riverbend’s enormous accommodation to allow Dee’s two golden retrievers to stay with her for the first months as she transitioned to her new home, as long as family cared for the dogs.

After a few months, the dogs moved to a new home, and Dee moved into Amery Memory Care, where she especially loved all the life enrichment activities, including the musical programs and “Ugly Pet Therapy.” In the middle of Covid in 2020, Dee moved to nursing home care at Golden Age Manor. Dee’s family is enormously grateful for the great care Dee received from caregivers at all three Amery facilities, with special gratitude for the team at Adoray Hospice, and faithful, caring visits and flowers from Rose Gilbertson to Dee at all locations over the course of many years.

After Dee’s move to Amery in 2014, her family was overjoyed to provide horse therapy sessions for Dee for three years, every Tuesday, at Quarter Moon Acres. These experiences of horse therapy refreshed Dee’s spirit through joyful & dignified rides assisted by caring staff, and later, when she could no longer ride, brushing and talking with “her horse,” Katie brought her enormous joy. (“Katie” happened to look very much like her late horse, “Spirit.”)

Dee worshipped at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Amery, and as long as she was able, she loved the fellowship & treats of OSLC’s Special Friends monthly communion services, as well as many visits from family & friends.

Dee was preceded in death by her parents Arthur and Olive (Sollid) Fitch, former husband Rev. Paul Monson, sister Donna (nee Layeaux) (John Rosca). She is survived by son Todd (Ruth) Monson, daughter Lisa (Keith) Ruehlow, sisters.

Delores “Kit” (Allard) Deu and Debi (Thomas) Herkenhoff, and grandchildren Luke (Katie Olson) Monson, Marie Monson (Steve Ekbom), Sarah Ruehlow (Mark VanAtta), and Anna Ruehlow (Dave Stemper), grand nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Amery after Easter, on April 18, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Keith Ruehlow and Rev. Tim Wittwer will officiate. Visitation will occur one hour prior to funeral services, and lunch will be served after the service. 

Memorial gifts may be directed to Arnell Humane Society, Quarter Moon Acres, or to the family to direct memorial gifts in Dee’s name.

Last Update: Mar 27, 2026 9:23 am CDT