Titus Andrew Vettrus

           Titus Andrew Vettrus, 35, of New York City, formerly of Mondovi, died Thursday as a result of an accident in Manhattan.       He was born June 17, 1984 in Albert Lea, Minnesota to Timothy and Terri (Ritter) Vettrus. Survivors include his parents, Rev. Timothy Vettrus of Prairie Farm, Wis. and Terri Vettrus of Mondovi; siblings, Sarah (Chris) Martin of Buford, Ga., Hannah (Fred) Opp of Urbandale, Iowa, Leah Vettrus of La Crosse, Thad (Jody) Vettrus of Chippewa Falls, Jemimah Vettrus of Eau Claire and Ty Vettrus of Hayward, Wis; nieces and nephews, Ben and Karis Martin, Everett and Levi Opp, Matt Jeffries and Piper Vettrus. Titus is further survived by aunts, uncles, cousins, other relatives and friends.       He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Rev. Ole and Clara Vettrus; maternal grandparents, Bernard and Mildred Ritter; five siblings who died before birth.       Titus lived a life bursting with a dedicated passion for music. It is clearly God’s hand that orchestrated the people and places Titus needed to grow as a musician.  He studied piano first with his mom who taught him to read music in under 2 weeks; then with local piano teacher, Karmen Teigen. He auditioned and was accepted to study with Leland Kearney in Eau Claire, Wis. and later with Professor Penelope Cecchini at UWEC. While in high school in Mondovi, Titus explored literature with retired teacher Virginia Everson and took college music classes at UWEC. His Piano Literature teacher at UWEC said, “We all loved Titus. He was brilliant and though only a high school Junior, Titus came to class more knowledgeable than the college students in his Senior Level class.”       Titus was an accompanist at area churches and for various vocalists and musicians, and community events.       Titus won numerous competitions and a grant from WCATY to study and perform the Liszt Piano Sonata in B Minor in Madison WI. He was a soloist with the Chippewa Valley Symphony and LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra. The generous gifts of people he inspired enabled Titus to attend Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan for his Senior year of high school.      Titus studied with Terry Dybvig in Long Island for a year before enrolling in Oberlin College (Ohio) to study with Robert Shannon. He studied at Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg and graduated from Oberlin with a double major in Piano and Russian.       During his Interlochen and Oberlin years Titus had great times with friends, especially Jonathan Levin, Araceli Alarcon, Justin Lader, Evan Shallcross and Kevin Brondum who mourn his loss. He lived and worked in New York City after college.       Titus was a kindhearted man who had a clever sense of humor. He was known for his wit and humility.       Deeply loved by his family and friends, Titus is greatly missed.  Memorial services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, December 8, 2019 at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church, 123 W. Hamilton Ave., Eau Claire.       Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church.       Online condolences may be offered at www.edisonfuneralhome.com To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Titus Andrew Vettrus, please visit our flower store.