Brad H. Tufte

Bradley Harlan Tufte was born on July 5, 1960 to Clifford Tufte and Verona (Randall) Tufte-Winegar in Owatonna, Minnesota. He grew up in rural Ellendale on the family farm, where he helped take care of many chickens and pigs.
Brad met his wife through an awkward courting. Tufte's sold eggs out of their chicken house and every Sunday the Ritz family would swing out for their weekly eggs. One day while the Ritz girl was getting eggs, he was staring out the kitchen window and tells his mom "I'm gonna marry that girl one day". After many winks in the hallways at school and eventually meeting up at a party, the two have been inseparable ever since.
Brad started his working career with Jannell's dad at Ritz Plumbing & Heating, followed by 18 years at Sorenson's Appliance & TV. Brad was known for having the cleanest cars around so when a business opportunity opened up for him in Owatonna he jumped at the chance to purchase Clean Cars & More where he took great pride in making sure Owatonna businesses and car dealers had clean cars! Brad then decided that cleaning cars was getting to be a bit of manual labor so he took a job at Cabela's doing what he loved – talking about guns all.day.long! He cherished the friends he gained working at all of these jobs.
His german shorthaired dogs brought much joy to him in his venture to harvest many pheasants over a lifetime, a sport he was proud to have passed on to his son, Justin. Jessica learned the talent of bringing home many dogs herself, most of whom found their way to dad's house to create much chaos! Ice fishing and spearing became something that the whole family started to enjoy in the winter. Many cold days were spent on Potato Lake staring down a hole for hours and hours waiting for the big one. Regular fishing on many lakes up north with Justin and most recently ice fishing on lakes around home near Rob, Jessica and the kids, gave him the urge to purchase his own Ice Castle. Unfortunately, the lack of ice this past winter made him unable to drop a line out of it. I'm thinking he will be watching over us this next winter when we get the house on the lake.
Brad and Jannell enjoyed traveling across the States and finding adventures along the way. They were blessed to share their 40th wedding anniversary with lifetime friends, Jeff and Robin Christensen on a week-long trip to Alaska, amongst previous trips to Texas and Las Vegas with them. They cherished the many trips they had with their kids and grandkids including Disney World, Alaska, Up North stays and Cape Coral.
Brad is survived by his wife, Jannell (Ritz) Tufte of 41 years (plus 7 years dating – we always counted that time) and his children Jessica (Rob) Arnold and Justin (Sarah) Tufte. His pride and joy were his grandchildren, Lex, Braxton, Josie, Jace, Oaklyn and granddaughter on the way. It was pretty rare that you wouldn't find at least one or two of them at the house. T-ball, dance, choir, art shows, clay target, football, or basketball is where you would find him often cheering on his grandkids. Brad is also survived by his dad, Clifford (Clare) Tufte, sisters Glori and Joyce (Jerry); sisters and brother in laws Chris (Lisa), Tracy (Guy), Roxie (Jim), Chad (Lera) along with many nieces and nephews; mother-in-law, Diana Ritz. Brad was predeceased by his mother Verona Winegar and his two brother in laws Dale and Jim; father-in-law, George Ritz.
The family will be greeting friends and family at a visitation at Michaelson Funeral Home in Owatonna on Friday, July 12th from 3:00 pm. to 6:00 pm. A private family burial will be held on Saturday, July 13th followed by a Celebration of Life at George's of Geneva from 11:30-2:00. All are welcome to the Celebration to come and share stories with the family.