Jutting says she has felt very welcomed to Blue Earth and enjoys spending time at the fitness center learning Muay Thai kickboxing.

Patton Funeral Home has found a new funeral director.

Tracy Jutting may sound like a familiar name to some, as she has a previous history in the area, back when Winter Funeral Home was still in the community. But now, Jutting is making a return at Patton.

The Buffalo Center, Iowa native says she has appreciated the Blue Earth community in the past and looks forward to serving the area now at her new position.

She says her call to mortuary science came to her some time in her late teens/early twenties when she worked for a local nursing home in Buffalo Center. It was there she witnessed the grief families went through during a loss, and it was there she realized her call was to help others in their time of need.

“I was interested in nursing for the longest time, and was going to school for it,” says Jutting. “But when we lost someone at work I was close with and saw the grief the family went through, I realized this is what I needed to be doing. I spoke with the funeral director at the time, and he let me come to the funeral home to have a walk through and discuss my future.”

From there, Jutting attending the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago for funeral service education.

“There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that, at the time when it first peaked my curiosity, I’d never known before,” she says. “It takes a strong-hearted person to learn the ins and outs on top of caring for the families in their hardest time.”

Her first day at Patton Funeral Home was at the beginning of August, and she says, so far, she has been enjoying connecting with the staff, including fellow funeral directors Rob Broderick and Ann Erdmann, along with many of the support staff members, like Renny and Donna Anderson.

“I have been learning a lot coming into the team, and I appreciate the care and compassion they have for others,” says Jutting.

She still resides in Buffalo Center, with her husband Jarvis, who works at 3M in Forest City, Iowa. She says Buffalo Center is a good half-way point for both she and her husband’s careers.

Jutting has a 21-year-old son, named Jaycob. When asked what it feels like being mother to a 21-year-old, she says it is hard to believe.

“It feels like it was not so long ago, I was 21 myself, and I just can’t believe time has gone by so quickly. He’s a great kid who has turned into a good man,” she says.

Jutting’s husband also has a son, Domenic, who is 12, and attends school elsewhere where his mother lives.

In her spare time, Jutting and her husband love playing cornhole, or beanbag toss, depending on where you’re from. She has also joined the Faribault County Fitness Center and enjoys her new Muay Thai kickboxing class.

Jutting is half Thai, as her mother is originally from Thailand. She says finding a Muay Thai kickboxing class in Blue Earth was a pleasant surprise.

Her mother met her father, a Buffalo Center native, while he was overseas during the Vietnam War where he served in the Air Force. They fell in love and committed to a life together in small-town Iowa.

Jutting says she hopes to one day visit Thailand. And, perhaps, that visit will come sooner rather than later.

“Jarvis and I go on a vacation every February,” says Jutting. “We usually head to the Caribbean, but I’ve been trying to get him to go to Thailand. Only time will tell.”

For now, however, Jutting is still getting situated at her new position, and is learning fast.