Diane Witzig
Tell us a bit about yourself:
I grew up in a conservative Christian home on a farm in central Illinois with 6 brothers and 1 sister – I was the 2nd born and oldest girl. I got in on a lot of childcare and when I was very young my Mom suggested I would be a great nurse – so nursing is what I chose for college. Because of the conservative nature of my church denomination, I was not sure I wanted to become a Christian and submit to their restrictions until I went off to college and my familiar comfort zone from my sheltered upbringing was shaken. During the summer after high school I had gone to a young group gathering with my cousin and saw a bunch of guys who were new Christians – totally turned on to the LORD and I found that very attractive. After a few months at college, I decided I wanted the peace and joy that I saw in people who had put their faith in Jesus Christ alone. Little did I know in less than a year my little faith would be shaken, but remain firm.
Was there a formative change in your life?
On the first day of my 2nd year in nursing school, I received a phone call that my Mom had been killed in a car accident. Our family ranged in age from 20 y/o (my oldest brother Dale, myself 19, stair-stepping all the way down to my 2 youngest brothers in 1st and 2nd grade. My Dad set a great example for our family by telling us the first day we were all together the words from Job 1: 21 – “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, Blessed be the name of the LORD.” With a lot of support from our extended family, church and home town community I was able to continue my nursing education and graduate from my first nursing program in 1974. Since then I have worked as a nurse for 50+ years.
Tell us about growing your career and family:
After graduating I worked at a hospital in Bloomington, IL and moved home to help my Dad with children until he remarried 3 years later. After that I was able to go on my first mission trip to Haiti (for 8 months!) with a dear friend from my nursing program. From this experience I realized my interest in primary health care in developing countries, and I have since gone on multiple 3rd world experiences and mission trips. When I returned from Haiti I moved to Chicago to work as a nurse and it was there that I reacquainted myself with one of those post- high school guy friends who had turned me on to Christianity. I began to date Tom Witzig who was in medical school and we were married in June 1977.
We were together on a mission trip to Sierra Leone, West Africa when he found out he matched at the University of Iowa for his internal medicine residency and thus we lived and worked in Iowa City for 3 years. I went back to school, earning a BSN and Masters in Public Health with my continued interest in international health. Meanwhile Tom became very interested in Hematology due to a cousin of his who was diagnosed with (and 5 years later died of) multiple myeloma. When we finished at Iowa, Tom was accepted into the Hematology/Oncology fellowship program here at Mayo and we came, thinking we would be here for 3 or 4 years, then return to Chicago. Little did we know we would dig our roots down deep into the Minnesota soil and raise our little family here.
After 7 years of marriage we decided that we needed to consider starting a family. We were blessed with a little girl-Erin, and 4 years later a little boy-Ryan. I took 7 years off work to be a stay-at-home Mom. When my little ones were both in school, I missed nursing so I went to the local community college RCTC – and started a job teaching nursing in order to have the hours of a teacher – weekends and summers off! I taught for 29 years at RCTC, developing a study abroad course where I took nursing students to experience health care in Ecuador – on 9 different trips – the 10th trip was stopped by Covid in 2020, and I reluctantly retired from that job in May, 2024.
I continue to use my nursing skills – giving vaccines for Mayo, and will soon begin Annual Wellness Visits for Medicare patients. At age 71 and 72 Tom and I (we have been married for 47 years) are trying to figure out how to wind down from our careers and our addiction to ‘being productive’.
Tell us about being faithful in prayer:
Erin and Ryan went off to Bethel University in the Twin Cities, Ryan went off to the Air Force Academy and has gone on to serve (currently 14 years) in our US military with specialty training as an Air Force Combat Rescue Officer/Pararescue. Erin worked as a teacher and nanny, but her main hope was to someday marry. Ryan found a beautiful Christian girl from Alabama and married Lucy in 2016 and they have given us our two darling grandsons – Graham and Peter. Unfortunately, they move with the military every 2-3 years and Ryan (now a Major as an Air Force Officer) has served in many countries and they now are based in Colorado Springs, back at the Air Force Academy. You will find me traveling to CO frequently to see my grandsons as often as possible. Our daughter Erin just met the man God had been saving for her and they became engaged a year ago at age 39. Brandon was 45 years old and neither of them had been able to find their life partner until now. God has answered our long-time prayer of a mate for Erin! It has renewed my faith & belief that with God all things are possible. He DOES hear our prayers. They were married in August at the Mayowood Stone Barn and 5 of my 6 brothers sang Great Is Thy Faithfulness in 4-part harmony (how my parents would have loved that! Mom was a beautiful singer, piano player and taught piano lessons and my Dad had an awesome bass voice). Erin & Brandon bought a beautiful home on a lakefront in Fairmont, MN where Brandon is a soybean processing plant manager. So full-circle – back to the farm.
What are some of your favorite Bible verses?
We have enjoyed the warm welcoming spirit of Calvary, the solid Biblical teaching from the pulpit here and everyone has made us feel very much at home. We look forward to getting to know many more new and old friends as we find our place to serve and grow. It has been a joy to study Ephesians this year – when I became a Christian my Mom wrote me a letter and said ‘read the books of Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians to become engrained in your new-found faith’.
Those books have been some of my favorites along with some of my favorite verses: Romans 8:38-39 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” and Lamentations 3: 22-23 “The LORD’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease and His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!”
Mary Ann Fitz
How does faith inform your work?
Faith informs my work in many ways. Faith also challenges the way that I do my work. As a nurse, I come across patients going through a myriad of different situations in life, and it is a privilege for me to be able to be there for a patient during difficult or uncertain times in their lives. Spiritual care is emphasized both in nursing school as well as at an institutional level, and pairing what is “allowed” to me by my workplace with the promptings and teachings of the Holy Spirit give me opportunities to shine Christ’s light and bolster a patient’s spiritual health. Simple questions about the patient’s life can lead to deeper conversations about their thoughts and fears about what is going on with their health. A question as unassuming as “is prayer helpful for you in your life?” can lead to opportunities to pray with patients and to share truth if it is invited. Many sweet moments have been had with patients who are fellow believers who want to talk about how God has been working in their lives, and I in turn have the benefit of being able to hear from them!
My faith informs my work and challenges me in areas where I need to be sanctified; namely through relying on Christ to supply the strength I need to be able to do my job, and secondly through having an attitude of working for the Lord and not for men when situations may cause me to feel overwhelmed, insignificant, or impatient with others.
What is your favorite time of day and why?
My favorite time of day varies from season to season. Currently, my favorite time of day is in the evening when I am completing my last-minute tasks prior to going to sleep, and then settling in for the night. Knowing that I’ve accomplished what I’ve needed to for the day, I can then make something warm to drink, invite my pup onto the bed for some snuggles prior to falling asleep, and then do something that I actually want to do that day briefly before I cannot keep my eyes open anymore… it’s a sweet time of sitting still and it feels like a deep breath before doing everything all over again the next day.
What are your hobbies?
I find it quite soothing to sit down and play on the piano, and being able to piece together melodies and songs that I hear over time on the piano is something that I consider a hobby. I also love exploring via hiking; if I have enough days off in a row I like to hop in the car and drive somewhere where I can find hiking trails, pack a picnic lunch each day, and make a trip out of it.
What is something that makes a welcoming home?
Being invited to someone’s home is so special and honoring. Being invited into a space where so much of a family’s life happens gives me glimpses into their “inside” life, their tastes, their priorities, and even who they are as a person. To create a welcoming home is my ultimate goal and a work in progress. I think that a welcoming home looks lived in. There have been times where I have walked into a home where I was afraid to brush against a wall, to get close to the coffee table, or to leave an imprint on the couch where I sat, simply because the house looked too clean, too pristine, and like touching anything would cause it to fall apart. A welcoming home looks lived in; it’s tidy, not obviously dirty–there may be some dust here and there on various surfaces; shoes in the hallway instead of neatly lined up on the bathmat; leftover dishes from lunch sitting in the sink or on the countertop to be washed later on in the day, throw blankets sitting like they had been brushed off prior to someone getting up from its warm embrace, and objects that are used frequently throughout the day are looking like they were paused in time; not put away and out of sight. A lived-in space is welcoming.
What are your three favorite smells?
My favorite smells are shared by others but could be looked at with concern, so bear with me. I love the smell of gasoline; whether I am pumping gas into my car, or spending quality time riding trails with friends on snowmobiles or ATV’s. I also love the smell of bleach. One would think it’s because I gain satisfaction from accomplishing cleaning my bathroom, but I enjoy the smell much more at work when the bleach wipes have to come out for special resistant bacteria that can only be killed by bleach. For a sense of normalcy, I also love the smell of the atmosphere just before and just after a large thunderstorm. The nitrogen concentration has a nice smell to it, and then the seemingly washed environment with the flowing rainwater on the ground (and typically lowered pollen in the air) is invigorating.
What is one important skill every person should master?
I have the opinion that everyone should take the time to learn how to effectively communicate with others. Communication seems like a simple concept but in reality, many relational problems could be solved quite simply through more effective communication. I’ve had many people come up to me and explain what somebody did to them, and how that made them feel, and the first question that I have for them is “well, did you talk to them about it?” The majority of the time the answer is no. I have realized that if people asked more clarifying questions, sought to understand others, and rephrased in their own words how they interpret what others tell them for unity of thought, they would have less stress in their lives and better relationships with others.
What are three things you highly value?
Firstly, close friends. I am beyond grateful for the friendships that have developed in both my childhood and my adult life with ladies who have stuck by me through life changes, my bad days, difficulties, fun times, and who are also willing to talk to me about challenging topics or confront me about my blind spots.
Second, honesty. Since being young, telling the truth has been instilled into me, and learning how Jesus’ character is full of grace and truth has helped me grow in the way that I am honest with people, and has helped me to see how and why telling the truth is a beautiful thing.
And last, rest. As a chronic over-booking individual who likes to have fun and enjoy life’s many experiences, I have learned to value rest in a way that I never have before. Being someone who has also been diagnosed with Long-Covid, God has been showing me that my value is more than what I can do for others, and that resting when I am unable to extend my energy is a time for me to learn to be content with the energy that I was given for the day, and to take time to sleep and spend time with Him.