Obituaries

CHINOOK - Herbert O. Gruss, 78, formerly of Chinook, died Sunday evening, February 20, 2005, at his Missoula residence. Herb was born Nov. 17, 1926, to Otto Wilhelm and Berta Gruss in Langenols, Germany. Before the age of 18, he was drafted into the German army. He fought in several World War II historical campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge. Near the end of the war, he surrendered to the British Army. After his release from POW camp, Herb resided in Wolfenbrttle Germany, where he met the love of his life, Ingeburg S...

KREMLIN - Leon C. Vosen, 92, a farmer from south of Kremlin, died Friday, Feb. 18, 2005, at Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes. A viewing will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Holland & Bonine Funeral Home. His funeral service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Assembly of God with the Rev. Steve Flatau officiating, with burial to follow at the Highland Cemetery. A fellowship luncheon will be held at the church immediately after the services at the graveside. Leon was born May 22, 1912, south of...

ROCKY BOY - Antonio P. Rego, 74, died at his home in Rocky Boy with his family by his side on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005, after a long illness. A wake service began Friday at 1 p.m. with his funeral service at 10 a.m. Saturday, all at the Rocky Boy Catholic Church with the Rev. Pete Guthneck officiating. Burial with full military honors was to follow at the Rocky Boy Cemetery. Antonio was born Aug. 2, 1930, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Antonio and Candida (Pascual) Rego. When he was a young boy, he moved with his family to Tampa,...

BILLINGS - William C. Eckhardt, 91, of Billings died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2005, at Sweet Memorial Nursing Home in Chinook. A service and burial were held Thursday in Billings. Survivors include his daughter, Loretta (Bill) Loranger or Havre; granddaughter, Kimberly (Kevin) Powell of Spokane, Wash.; and two great-grandsons of Spokane....

KREMLIN - Leon C. Vosen, 92, a farmer from south of Kremlin, died Friday, Feb. 18, 2005, at Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes. A viewing will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Holland & Bonine Funeral Home. His funeral service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Assembly of God with the Rev. Steve Flatau officiating, with burial to follow at the Highland Cemetery. A fellowship luncheon will be held at the church immediately after the services at the graveside. Leon was born May 22, 1912, south of...

ROCKY BOY - Antonio P. Rego, 74, died at his home in Rocky Boy with his family by his side on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005, after a long illness. A wake service began Friday at 1 p.m. with his funeral service at 10 a.m. Saturday, all at the Rocky Boy Catholic Church with the Rev. Pete Guthneck officiating. Burial with full military honors was to follow at the Rocky Boy Cemetery. Antonio was born Aug. 2, 1930, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Antonio and Candida (Pascual) Rego. When he was a young boy, he moved with his family to Tampa,...

BILLINGS - William C. Eckhardt, 91, of Billings died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2005, at Sweet Memorial Nursing Home in Chinook. A service and burial were held Thursday in Billings. Survivors include his daughter, Loretta (Bill) Loranger or Havre; granddaughter, Kimberly (Kevin) Powell of Spokane, Wash.; and two great-grandsons of Spokane....

obituary Lorraine Helen Louise Richards, 93, died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, at Northern Montana Hospital of natural causes. Her funeral service will be 2 p.m. today at the Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel with Ila McClenahan officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery. Lorraine was born Jan. 23, 1912, in Burlington, Wis., to Louie and Esther (Oberg) Lightfield. When she was a young girl, she moved with her family to Sidney, where she attended country school. The family later moved to Havre. On Nov. 4, 1930,...

WHITEFISH - William F. Hoppe, 86, of Whitefish died Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005, of congestive heart failure at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell. A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Columbia Falls with the Rev. Terry Forke officiating. Bill was born in Havre on Feb. 6, 1919, to Carl and Elizabeth Hoppe. He attended schools in Havre and worked in his father's coal mine and on construction, until he was inducted into the Army. Bill married his wife, Erma, on March 4,...

MISSOULA - Vera M. Heil, 84, of Missoula died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2005, after a short illness. A service was scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home in Missoula with the Rev. David W. Renfro officiating. Cremation has taken place. Vera was born June 13, 1920, in Charbono, N.D., to Murray and Jane Vanderhoef. Vera led a long and rewarding life. She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings and husband, Vernon. Survivors include her children, Vandra Hanson of Bozeman, DeeAnn Messmer of Fairview, Kathy...

memorial service BIG SANDY - A memorial service for Grace Garcia, mother of Joseph DiSalvo of Big Sandy, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Box Elder. Grace died Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005, at a Great Falls hospital of lung cancer....

Matthew Tyson Yates IV, 26, of Havre died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, at his residence. The cause of death is under investigation by the Hill County coroner's office. A funeral service will be 6 p.m. Tuesday at Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Rowlie Hutton officiating. Visitation is 6 to 9 p.m. Monday and from 1 p.m. to service time Tuesday at the Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel. Cremation will follow the service and interment of the cremains will take place at a later date. A luncheon will be held at the VFW Club...

Edward John Olszewski, 67, formerly of Hogeland and Colstrip, died Feb. 10, 2005, at Benefis East Healthcare due to natural causes. A funeral Mass was scheduled for 11 a.m. today in Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church with burial following in Wing Cemetery with military honors. Rosary was recited Sunday at 7 p.m. at Edwards Funeral Home Chapel in Chinook. Edward (Ed) was born April 21, 1937, at Havre to Adrian and Kathleen (Leinan) Olszewski. He was raised on the Big Flat, graduated from Hogeland High School in 1955 and...

Carrol Louise Oedewaldt, 74, a bookkeeper and clerk from Shelby, died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, at her home due to natural causes. A funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Shelby with burial in the Mountain View Cemetery. Visitation was to be one hour before service time at the church. Carrol was born June 20, 1930, at Havre to Howard and Helen (Swartout) Davidson. She was raised near Kremlin and also lived part time in California, where her father did seasonal construction work. Carrol...

RUDYARD - Alice Camille (Chvilicek) Langel, 68, died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, at her daughter's home in Phoenix, Ariz. Vigil prayers will be 7 p.m. Friday at Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Church in Hingham. Funeral Mass will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the church. Cremation will follow per Alice's request. A graveside service and burial of ashes will be 11 a.m. next Monday at the Rudyard Cemetery. Alice was born Feb. 17, 1936, at Hingham to John and Marion (Huestis) Chvilicek. Alice grew up on the family farm and received her early e...

Marie Vander Ven, 96, died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, at Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes. A vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Jude's Catholic Church. The funeral Mass will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Jude's Catholic Church. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery. A fellowship luncheon will be held immediately after the committal service at the Parish Center. Marie was born Aug. 16, 1908, in Nijmegan, Holland, to Henry and Petronella Verploegen. The family immigrated to America in 1910 and...

Donald Andrew Gondeiro, 77, of Havre, a farmer, rancher and Army veteran, died Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005, of natural causes at Peace Hospice in Great Falls. Visitation will be at Schnider Funeral Home from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and one hour before the 7 p.m. Sunday vigil service at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. The funeral liturgy will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, with burial following at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Donald was born Jan. 30, 1928, in Great Falls to Andrew and...

George Kato, 78, of Great Falls, a retired warehouse manager, died of natural causes Monday, Feb. 7, 2005, at a Great Falls hospital. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Great Falls. A rite of committal will be 11 a.m. Monday in Calvary Cemetery in Havre. A vigil will be 7 p.m. Friday at the O'Connor Memorial Chapel in Great Falls. Visitation is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the O'Connor Funeral Home. George was born Jan. 3, 1927, in Havre and was...

CHINOOK/LIBBY - John Melvin Norberg Jr., 67, died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005, of heart failure in Kalispell. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Christ Lutheran Church in Libby. A luncheon will follow in Libby. A burial service will be held at 11 a.m. aturday at Kuper Memorial Cemetery in Chinook. He was born July, 28, 1937, in Chinook to John Melvin and Myrtle (Swenson) Norberg. He received his early education in Chinook and graduated from Chinook High School in 1957. He served in the National Guard of Montana...

HARLOWTON - Earl Wesley Kardell, 69, died Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, at Wheatland Memorial Hospital in Harlowton due to cancer. No services planned at this time. Earl was born in Havre on Oct. 9, 1935, to Frank W. and Mildred L. Kardell. He attended Havre public schools through high school and then was employed by Great Northern Railway. In 1955, Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army and served honorably for three years. Upon his discharge, Earl returned to Havre and worked for the railroad for 10 years. He then moved to Lewistown....

CHINOOK/LIBBY - John Melvin Norberg Jr., 67, died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005, of heart failure in Kalispell. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Christ Lutheran Church in Libby. A luncheon will follow in Libby. A burial service will be held at 11 a.m. aturday at Kuper Memorial Cemetery in Chinook. He was born July, 28, 1937, in Chinook to John Melvin and Myrtle (Swenson) Norberg. He received his early education in Chinook and graduated from Chinook High School in 1957. He served in the National Guard of Montana...

HARLOWTON - Earl Wesley Kardell, 69, died Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, at Wheatland Memorial Hospital in Harlowton due to cancer. No services planned at this time. Earl was born in Havre on Oct. 9, 1935, to Frank W. and Mildred L. Kardell. He attended Havre public schools through high school and then was employed by Great Northern Railway. In 1955, Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army and served honorably for three years. Upon his discharge, Earl returned to Havre and worked for the railroad for 10 years. He then moved to Lewistown....

Ethel Charlotte Ward, 94, died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005, at the Northern Montana Care Center. A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel with Ila McClenahan officiating. A fellowship luncheon was to follow at the VFW Club immediately after the memorial service. A graveside service will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Fairview Cemetery in Fairview, N.D. Ethel was born May 27, 1910, in Germantown, Minn., to Charles Peter and Anna Marie (Olson) Cook. She attended school in various places in...

J. Marie Havskjold, 96, of Minot, N.D., died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005, at a Minot nursing home. A funeral service was held Saturday at 2 p.m. in St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Minot. Interment will be later in the spring in Highland Park Cemetery in Havre. Julia Marie was born Feb. 26, 1908, on the family homestead near Larson, N.D. to the Rev. Adolf and Ida Marie (Isakson) Buckneberg. She grew up helping in the church by playing the organ, working with the choir, and occasionally teaching her dad's confirmation classes. She...

Robert W. "Wayne" Dafoe, 86, of Chester died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005, at Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester. A funeral service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Chester Alliance Church. A graveside service with military rites will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Whitlash Cemetery. Wayne was born April 11, 1918, at Ithaca, Mich., to Ernest and Nellie (Peck) Dafoe. After receiving his formal education, Wayne began working in the tool-and-dye division at the Buick factory in Flint. He later completed a course in auto body repair at a...