William “Bill” Novitski, 85, of Northwood passed away Thursday, March 15, 2018, at Good Samaritan Society of St. Ansgar, Iowa.

Per his wishes, Bill’s body has been cremated.

A celebration of life visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Conner Colonial Chapel, 1008 First Ave. S. in Northwood. It will be a casual time to be together to remember Bill. The family asks that you come with memories of Bill and enjoy refreshments. Memorials may be directed in care of Bill’s family.

William Maurice Novitski was born April 30, 1932, to Leo and Margaret (Zigmont) Novitski in Willow River.

William was married to Margaret Jacobson in 1954 and to this union four children were born: Susan, Toni, William Jr. and Marilyn.

The couple divorced and in 1964 William was united in marriage to Ione Hecker and gained four more children: Daryl, Lynne, Catherine and Barbara. They then welcomed two more children, Patricia and Jeffery.

William was a “stick to himself” kind of person and did not really care for big crowds of people. He enjoyed his family, camping in his earlier years, fishing and drinking a beer with the boys. He was also an avid Vikings and Twins fan. He did several jobs over the years and had a knack for fixing things. He started working at Weyerhaeuser in the early ’70s, retiring in 1994.

Left to cherish his memory are his children Susan (Joe) Tomaszki of Superior, Wisconsin, Bill Novitski Jr. of Willow River, Marilyn (Jeff) Desmore of Dassel, Daryl (Virginia) Brandt of Signal Hill, California, Catherine (Dave) Vogel of Osage, Iowa, Barbara Jensen of Albert Lea, Patricia (Doug) Jaspers of Northwood and Jefferey Novitski of Maryville, Tennessee; sons-in-law Jerry Reupke of Stewartville and Darryl Eccles of Moose Lake; grandchildren Kara (Jesse) Renteria of Northwood, Krystle (Dallas) Roth of Kiester, Kory (Alyssa) Jaspers of Northwood, Aliree (Mark) Paul of Owatonna, Bruce (Manda) Hansen of LaValle, Wisconsin, Joe (Michelle) Hansen of Northwood, David Vogel of Northwood, Kyle Novitski and Scot Novitski, both of Blooming Prairie, Chad (Brielle) Gilbertson of Albert Lea, Robert Jensen of Plainview, Steven (Beverly) Jensen of Saline, Michigan, Shawn Near of Daytona Beach, Florida, Melanie (Scott) Aufderhar of Sturgeon Lake, Kimberly (Chris) Freyholtz of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, Joseph (Heather) Eccles of Kettle River, Joy Eccles of Moose Lake, Jody (Larry) Pawlicki of Portland, Oregon, Michael Diel of Amboy and Anissa (Jason) Johnson of St. Cloud; and great-grandchildren Isaac, Jasmine, Myles, Trystan, Camdyn, Mikaylee, Rhylee, Courtney, Cassie, Molli, Amelia, Noah, Trevor, Fiona, Dawson, Jade, Kaleb, Jacob, Alex, Tanner, Kelly, Katelyn, Allison and Henry.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Ione; daughters Lynne and Toni; granddaughter, Christina; grandson, William; and an infant grandson, Jason. He is also preceded in death by his parents Leo and Margaret.