Curtis “Chick” Snell of Lodge Pole, 66, died Feb. 13, 2008, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
A wake service was scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008, at the Medicine Bear Lodge in Lodge Pole. The funeral service was scheduled for today at 11 a. m. at the Medicine Bear Lodge with pastors Jim and Gradie Fritz officiating with the committal service to follow at the Lodge Pole cemetery. A fellowship reception was scheduled at the Medicine Bear Lodge following the Committal Service. Services and arrangements are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home in Chinook, Montana. Curtis Snell was born Nov. 22, 1941, to Joe Has Eagle and Mabel Snell at the Fort Belknap Agency. He grew up in and around the Hays-Lodge Pole area and attended school in Lodge Pole and Flandreau, S. D. He received his GED at the Medicine Bear Lodge in Lodge Pole and went on to attend The Market Training Institute in Seattle and The University of Montana before attending Ft. Belknap College. He majored in general business with an accounting option. Curtis met and married Lydia Shortman and the couple settled in Lodge Pole. They raised their six children together until her untimely death in 2003. Curtis was a very goodhearted person and would help anyone he was able to. He spent a lot of time taking care of his aged Mother, who turned 100 in January 2008. He was always in a good mood and would talk to anyone. Under the Enemy Killer Grant Curtis set up a cooperative at the Chief Nosey center in Lodge Pole under the supervision of Mona Wing. While at the co-op he had the opportunity to work with the youth to help prepare them for entrance into the job market. Some skills needed for the transition are not taught in the class room and his responsibility was assisting the youth to acquire these necessary skills. He believed that students who leave the reservation find the job market very competitive and need to develop the skills necessary to succeed. During his co-op experience he assisted in the supervision of scheduled activities at the recreation center. He was responsible for ordering supplies, filing correspondence and the minutes of meetings. He assisted with custodial and maintenance duties and transported youth to activities outside the complex. He assisted in the physical fitness training and had charge of the financial activities and records. Curtis was a participant in the Ft. Belknap Vocational Rehabilitation program and the JTAP training program. His hobbies included woodworking, picture framing, hunting, fishing, and gardening. He also enjoyed cooking, his gold fish, and his dogs. He attended pow-wows as often as possible and traveled when he could. He could always be found at the local bingo game in Lodge Pole. Curtis is survived by his mother, Mabel Snell of Lodge Pole; sons, Greg (Valerie) Shortman of Denver, Colo,; Drury “Cowboy” Shortman, Bruce Shortman and Merle Snell, all of Lodge Pole, and daughter Carmen (Ross) Plain Feather of Lodge Pole; brothers, Jesse Snell and Calvin (Doreen) Snell, both of Lodge Pole, and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Joe Has Eagle; wife, Lydia Shortman; brothers Merle Snell, William Snell, sister Florence Snell, and grandson Garrett Sears.
