Miriam Chutich

1935-2023

Word has been received that Miriam “Bets” Chutich of Marietta, Georgia, passed away on April 18, 2023 at the age of 88.

The youngest of seven children, Bets was born on April 8, 1935, in Chisholm to Mike and Mildred Smilanich, pioneer residents of the community. She graduated with the Chisholm class of 1953 and was very active in music and girls’ sports while in high school. She was in the choir and played the violin in the high school orchestra; also, was the president of GAA (Girls Athletic Association). She was chosen to be in the Erodelphians, a girls’ honor society, in her sophomore year and the National Honor Society in her senior year. In later years, she was a member of the Red Hat Society.

After High school, she attended Hibbing Junior College and received a Secretarial Diploma in 1954. She then worked as a secretary, first at Bucyrus- Erie in Hibbing, then at the Division of Lands and Minerals in Hibbing until her marriage to the love of her life Matt “Bimbo” Chutich on November 30, 1957.

Matt was finishing his last year of college at UMD so they moved to Duluth and lived on Park Point. Bets worked for the City of Duluth Civil Service Commission as a secretary while Matt earned his B.A. degree in Business Administration. After his graduation they moved to Virginia, Minnesota, and opened their first restaurant, specializing in pizza, on Chestnut Street and called it “Bimbo’s”. After their first successful restaurant opening, they began to open multiple restaurants, with their famous “Bimbo’s Pizza,” in college towns across Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In later years they expanded their business with more extensive menus and full bars, with entertainment in most of them. By the late sixties, they had 15 popular “Bimbo’s” restaurants/bars going at one time in seven different states. They opened 33 places altogether, the last one being in Marietta, Georgia.

Bets and Matt lived a life of adventure and love for 48 years until his passing in February of 2006. They touched many lives along the way, especially their children and grandchildren. Family was so important to them, and family gatherings and vacations were the highlight of their lives, especially the summers at their cottages at Side Lake. Bets was so thankful to live such a full, long life and to get to be surrounded by her family every day.

Bets was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Matt, her son Paul, four brothers and two sisters. She is survived by her daughter Dawn (Ray) Benz, of Marietta, four grandchildren, Katie (James) Silva, Emily (Jason) Hudgins, Matt Benz and Rob (Jeinny) Benz, and three great grandchildren, Connor, Mila and Carter.

Her burial will be held at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hibbing, Minnesota on July 3, 2023 at 11 a.m. Burial notice to follow.