Obituaries

Alice Elizabeth Huff, 92, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2003, at a Havre care center of natural causes. Viewing for Alice will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Home with the funeral service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Zoe Coutts officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery. Alice was born on June 2, 1911, in Lilloico, Alberta to Arnold and Gina (Espeseth) Lund. The family immigrated to the United States in 1922 and settled in Wolf Point. Alice...

BIG SANDY - Wilbur "Bill" Marion Cavitt Jr., 76, of Big Sandy died Monday, Dec. 22, 2003, at a Big Sandy medical center of natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Big Sandy with the Rev. Marvin Eldridge officiating. Visitation will be held one hour before the service. Burial will be in the Big Sandy Cemetery with Masonic rites. Bill was born on Aug. 29, 1927, at Great Falls to Wilbur and Vivian (Edmister) Cavitt. He attended the Grandview School north of Galata....

STANWOOD, Wash. - Omer C. Thon, 71, died on Friday, Oct. 31, 2003, in Stanwood, Wash. Omer was born in Havre to Ingvald and Olina Thon on May 18, 1932. The family farmed out of Kremlin. He lived in Montana until 1943, when he moved to Mount Vernon, Wash., after the death of his father. He attended Lincoln Grade School and graduated in 1950 from Union High School. After graduation, he began his career in accounting with the firm of Hartwick Accounting, until he was called into the service of his country, serving in the Army...

CHINOOK - Marie "Mary" Tilleman, 91, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003, at a Chinook nursing home due to natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel with burial following in Kuper Memorial Cemetery. Mary was born on Feb. 5, 1912, in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, to William and Marie (Saunders) Zich. Mary married Arthur F. Tilleman on Nov. 27, 1930, in Chinook. She was active with her husband on their farm/ranch west of Zurich. Mary had resided in the Sweet Memorial Nursing Home...

Perry D. Neiss, 76, died Thursday, Dec. 18, 2003, at a Havre care center due to natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Chapel. Burial with full military honors will follow at Highland Cemetery. Perry was born on Aug. 2, 1927, to Ezra and Margaret (Hutchinson) Neiss in Coopers Town, N.D. He was raised and educated in the area. He served in the Marine Corps. After his discharge in the 1950s came to Havre. He married Betty Clampitt and had three children. They later... Full story

TURNER - Alice Simons, 92, a retired licensed practical nurse who had been residing in Conrad, died of natural causes on Monday, Dec. 15, 2003, at a Conrad medical center. A funeral service will be held at the Turner Christian Church on Saturday with burial following at the Turner Cemetery. Alice was born on Feb. 3, 1911, in the Gallatin Valley area to William Davis and Emma Elizabeth (Dale) Davis. She received her education and spent her early years in that area, where she was a homemaker and worked at various jobs. In...

Irene D. Miller, 79, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003, at a Havre care center of natural causes. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church with the Rev. Alfred Ebel officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery. A fellowship will be held at the church immediately after the services at the graveside. Irene was born on March 22, 1924, in Glasgow to Matthew and Margaret (Wisch) Voss. As a young girl, Irene attended schools in Rudyard and Cottonwood. She graduated from Chinook High... Full story

RUDYARD - Freda Gene Hansard, 75, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003, at her home in Rudyard. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Blue Sky High School gymnasium in Rudyard. Her ashes will be buried in the family plot at the Rudyard Cemetery. Freda was born on March 30, 1928, at Havre to Alfred "Pete" Rathbun and Winifred "Winnie" Boyer. She grew up on the Rathbun homestead south of Inverness and received her early education at the Cockrell Springs country school near the farm. During several winters in her... Full story

ROCKY BOY - Mary A. Denny, 82, a full blood Chippewa from Turtle Mountain, N.D., died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003, at a Great Falls hospital of natural causes. A wake service began at 4 p.m. Monday at the Rocky Boy Lutheran Church. A funeral service was scheduled for 10 a.m. today at the Rocky Boy Lutheran Church with the Rev. Pete Guthneck officiating. Burial was to be held at the Rocky Boy Cemetery. Mary was born on Oct. 31, 1922, in Denseth, N.D., to Joseph and Mary Rose (Peltier) Skinner. She was raised and educated in...

Donald B. Anderson, 79, of Havre died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, at Havre. A funeral Mass was held Saturday at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic in Circle with the Rev. Leo McDowell officiating. A vigil ser- vice will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. Don was born on Nov. 19, 1924, at Scranton, N.D., and was raised on the family farm at Haley, N.D. He graduated from Buffalo High School in Buffalo, S.D., in 1943 and entered the Navy in 1945. He served in Whiting Field, Pensacola, Fla., and Hawaii... Full story

Alma Marlene Hanson, 70, died Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003, at a Havre hospital of natural causes. A prayer vigil will be 7 p.m. Sunday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Chapel. The funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Monday at the St. Jude Catholic Church with the Rev. Robert D. Grosch officiating. A fellowship will be held immediately after the Mass at the St. Jude Parish Center. Marlene was born on June 18, 2003, in Hingham to Edward and Alma (Voss) Norenberg. She attended school in Hingham and graduated from Hingham High...

SUMNER, Wash. - Mae Giesick, 78, died Monday, Dec. 10, 2003. A memorial service will be Monday at 11 a.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 245 Valley Avenue, Sumner, Wash. She was the daughter of the late Andrew and Agnes Wilson of Havre. She was preceeded in death by her husband Jack Giesick. She is survived by her sons, Larry Auge of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Allan Auge of Puyallup, Wash.; sisters, Maxine Catt of Havre, Darlene Sharp and Marlene Malone, both of Spokane, Wash.; nieces and nephews, Myrna, Jim and Cindy;...

RUDYARD - Orville Kenneth Solum, 71, of Rudyard died Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003, at a Kalispell nursing facility. He was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago. A funeral service will be 3 p.m. Monday at Alliance Church in Chester. Burial with military rites will follow at the Rudyard Cemetery. Orville was born on May 29, 1932, at Joplin to Edwin and Karen (Spaberg) Solum. He grew up on the family farm south of Inverness and received his early education at the Rathbun Country School. He finished his education in Rudyard and...

HARLEM - Knute Kulbeck, 78, died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, at a Fort Belknap hospital due to natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Harlem High School gymnasium with burial following in the Harlem Cemetery. Knute was born on June 26, 1925, in Vermillion, Alberta, to William and Margaret Hall. He was adopted and raised by Edwin "Bat" and Flossie Kulbeck. Knute was raised and attended school in Havre. At the age of 18 he began his farming career with nine head of cattle. In 1947 he moved to Harle...

Herschel Fox, 86, retired farmer/rancher, former Hill County Commissioner and a lifetime residence of this area, died unexpectedly Monday, Dec. 8, 2003, at his residence. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15, 2003, in the Fifth Avenue Christian Church with burial following in the Highland Cemetery. Herschel was born on Aug. 29, 1917, at the family homestead 15 miles southeast of Havre on Clear Creek in Blaine County to Clyde and Bessie (Spoonemore) Fox. He attended Sprague School through the eighth grade...

John P. Verploegen, 93, of Havre died Monday Dec. 8, 2003, at a Havre care center of natural causes. A vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Jude Catholic Church. The funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Friday at St. Jude Catholic Church with the Rev. Robert D. Grosch officiating. Burial will follow at the Cottonwood Cemetery north of Havre. A fellowship dinner will be held at the St. Jude Parish Center immediately after the services at the graveside. J.P. was born on Aug. 20, 1910, in Milwaukee, Wis., to...

Gavin Lewis Vande Sandt, died six hours following his birth on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003, at a Great Falls hospital due to a chromosomal abnormality. A funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the Assembly of God Church in Chester. Burial was to follow at the Chester Cemetery. Gavin was the first child born to Curtis and Sara (Gjesdal) Vande Sandt, who were married on Jan. 2, 2002. They made their home in Havre. Gavin is survived by his parents, Curtis and Sara (Gjesdal) Vande Sandt of Havre; paternal grandparents,...

FRESNO, Calif. - Daniel Francis Mueller, 70, died Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003, at Fresno of respiratory arrest a day after mitral valve replacement surgery. A celebration of life was held at Riverpark Bible Church at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Dan was born on March 24, 1933, at Havre and was educated here. Before moving from Havre, he played softball and was a pitcher in the Havre fastpitch softball league Dan had lived in Des Moines, Iowa, and had been a resident of Fresno for 33 years. He worked in the life insurance field for 40... Full story

HINGHAM - Elizabeth "Lizzie" Schweitzer, 93, died Monday, Dec. 1, 2003, at a Chester rest home. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Church in Hingham. A graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Highland Cemetery in Havre. Elizabeth was born on Sept. 29, 1910, at Bow Island, Alberta, to George and Katherine (Dorscher) Roth. She grew up in Canada and received her formal education there. In November of 1928, Elizabeth married Anton Schweitzer at Bow island. They made their home in...

Gladys Juanita Cornella, 94, formally of Havre, died Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003, in Chandler, Ariz., at a care facility of natural causes. Her funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Van Orsdel United Methodist Church with the Rev. VaunDalee Delong officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery. A fellowship reception will be held at the church immediately following the graveside service. Gladys was born on Aug. 23, 1909, to William and Edith (Ryder) Lamphere in Dead Lake Township, Ottertail County, Minn. Her...

Edna A. Thompson, 87, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003, at a Havre care center. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Highland Cemetery and a memorial service is to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Northern Montana Care Center Chapel with Ila McClenahan officiating. Edna was born on Jan. 7, 1916, south of Havre in the Bear Paw Mountains. She spent her early years on the family ranch in the Bear Paw Mountains on the Little Box Elder Creek. She moved to Havre with her parents in the late 1950s. At the time of her...

Ragna (Rags) McLean, 90, died on Monday, Nov. 24, 2003, at a care facility in Twin Falls, Idaho. She was born on Aug. 19, 1913, in Hankinson, N.D., to Peter and Thora Mahlum, emigrants from Norway. Rags was the ninth of 15 children. The Mahlums moved to the Flathead Valley, near Kalispell, in 1917 and Rags and her siblings were raised on the family farm. Rags graduated from Flathead High School in 1933 and attended Washington State University for one year, where she took business classes while working at a sanitarium. Rags... Full story

Robert Paul Keith, 31, died Friday, Nov. 28, 2003, at a Havre care facility after a courageous battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held at 2:30 p.m Tuesday at the Assembly of God Church in Havre with the Rev. Russ Michaels officiating. The committal rite will be at the Highland Cemetery following the service. A fellowship will be held at the church immediately following the interment. Robert was born on Aug. 8, 1972, to David and Louise (Orr) Keith in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After moving to Montana in childhood, he...

Eugene Louis Bodner, 71, died Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003, at a Fort Benton medical center of natural causes. Open public viewing was Sunday afternoon and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m . today. His funeral service will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Home with Dean Rohner officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery in Havre. Eugene was born on March 26, 1932, in Havre to Louis and Lottie (Parks) Bodner. He was raised and educated in Havre and graduated from Havre High School in 1949. Eugene went to work f...

CHINOOK - Mary Jane Bartlette, 62, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003, at a Chinook nursing home due to heart related complications. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Assembly of God Church with burial following in Kuper Memorial Cemetery. Mary Jane was born on Feb. 11, 1941, in Bellefontaine, Ohio, to Revered Lyle and Glenna (Miller) Marine. Mary completed high school in Bellefontaine and worked various jobs in the area upon graduation. In May 1973, she moved to Chinook with friends to start a new life. She...