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As received from Memorial Chapel Funeral and Cremation Service:
Mina Mae (Fritz) Brotherton died on December 31, 2023, and went directly to heaven and into the arms of her beloved husband Bill.
She was born on June 19, 1932, to Eliza (Tuts) & Albin (Darkie) Fritz. She grew up on the family farm on Sage Lake Road in Lupton, MI. She graduated from Rose City High School at the age of 16 and then went on to college at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in Sault Saint Marie. It was there that she met the love of her life, William Stephen Brotherton. They were married on December 29, 1951, and moved to Houghton, Michigan where they raised their six children, In 1977 they moved out to the farm on Forsman Rd. Mina and Bill spent many happy years on the farm together. She always had a big vegetable garden and she loved the tulips and daffodils that she fought so hard to keep from the deer.
Mina was an amazing woman who could do just about anything that she set her mind to. She was a talented seamstress; making everything from everyday clothing to wedding gowns for her children. She made beautiful quilts and was still making them for anyone that she thought needed them. She crocheted rag rugs, making one so huge that it earned her a blue ribbon at the Houghton County Fair for “Homemaker of the Year.” She was also a carpenter. When she wanted something built she simply did it. Framing in a window, building birdhouses and repairing her front door sill. Nothing was beyond her. She bowled in a weekly league in her 90’s and continued to maintain her own household. She never stopped living her life.
But of all things Mina accomplished, she was the most proud of her family. She would often comment “I don’t understand how one woman could be so lucky!” But we were the lucky ones!
Preceding her in death were her parents, her brothers: Steve, John and Bruce, her sister Lillian and her loving husband Bill.
She is survived by her six children: Patricia (Tom) Keeley, Michael (Kathy) Brotherton, William “Benji” (Annie) Brotherton, Joan (Ernie) Beutler, Carol (Randy) Little and Elizabeth “Peanut” Davis, 26 Grandchildren, 37 Great-Grandchildren and one Great-Great-Grandchild; her sister Joan Reimer; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins; as well as her extended family, the Lowneys – Barb, Nancy, Mary Jane, Bob and Neil. And of course her beloved dogs, Joy and George.
She will be missed, but sit in a quiet place and talk with her. She will always have something to say.
A Mass of Christian Burial for mina will be held 11 am Saturday, January 6, 2023, at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church of Houghton with Fr. John Martignon to officiate. A time to share memories of Mina and a luncheon will follow in the parish hall following the mass. Spring burial will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery of Houghton.
