Matthew J. Pitzel
Maya Patel has spent the last six years covering the arts scene in Fargo after earning her degree in Arts Management from North Dakota State University. She has a strong background with local art galleries and theaters, bringing a vibrant perspective to her reporting.
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Matthew Pitzel, 61, of Moorhead, MN, left this earth on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Matthew Joktan Pitzel, Matty, entered this world in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a bit early, on February 14, 1965. He weighed only four pounds. His parents, Monroe Pitzel and Rose (Ulschmid) Pitzel moved back to Minnesota in Matt s first year of life. Back in Minnesota, Matt was just a little over one year old when his very own baby sister, Jessica, arrived on May 9, 1966. For the next 60 plus years, Matt would be Jessie s best friend, bodyguard, and accomplice in countless adventures and shenanigans. Matt spent much of his early life on the Pitzel farm and lakes near Frazee and Vergas, MN. He and Jessie spent most weekends and long summer days playing around the farm, chopping wood, riding dirt bikes, swimming, and, most importantly to Matty, fishing, and having family fish fries. In the early 1970s, the family briefly moved to West Fargo, North Dakota when Monty took a job at the meat packing plant. Matty