Billiette Irene Pitz

She was 92.

Born Nov. 1, 1932, in Williston, N.D., Billiette graduated from Williston High School.

Known to her friends as “Billie,” she worked as a nurse’s aide at Mercy Hospital under the mentorship of Sister Mary Eugene, going so far as visiting a convent in Winona, Minn., to discern if she had a calling to religious life.

She would later work at two “abstract” companies (firms that research and compile a condensed history of a property’s ownership).

In the late 1950s, Billiette moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and while working at the Loyalty Group Insurance company, she met Walter Pitz. The couple would marry on Sept 13, 1958, and soon moved to Chicago where they welcomed their first son, Raymond.

In 1960, Billiette and Walter moved to Arvada, Colorado, adding five more children to their growing family before the decade was over. She often pointed out with pride, “I had six kids in eight years!”

The family would move to Aloha, Oregon, in 1979.

In the early 1980s, Billiette volunteered in the Beaverton School District to help teach English to arriving refugees from Southeast Asia.

For the last six years, Billiette and her husband Walter resided at Canfield Place where she had many friends. There, she loved painting, creating dozens of acrylic landscapes and still lifes over the years.

A devout Catholic, Billiette attended Mass locally at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Holy Trinity and St. Cecilia Catholic churches.

Billiette is survived by her husband, Walter, along with six children and their spouses, Ray (Irene) Pitz, Pat (Caroline) Pitz, Mike (Cathy) Pitz, Mary Pitz (Pat Nyquist), Kathy (Pete) Moshinsky and Geralyn (Mike) Ingalls.

A loving grandmother, she took delight in indulging her grandchildren, ending up with 15 of them, along with one great grandchild, saying babies were the most precious things in the world.

Billiette had a lifelong love of chocolate and Irish jokes.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Jennie Mahanna, along with a brother, Maurice Mahanna, and two sisters, Hazel Blackburn and Helen Huffman.

A funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 17, at St. Juan Diego Catholic Church, 5995 N.W. 178th Ave, Portland. A viewing and recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy will precede the Mass beginning at 10 a.m.

Interment is set for Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, at 12:30 at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Juan Diego food pantry or Meals on Wheels.