Obituaries

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,...

Michelle Rae (Main) Plain Feather, 25, died Monday, Feb. 14, 2005, in an automobile accident at Lodge Pole. A wake service will begin today at 7 p.m. in Chief Nosey Recreation Center at Lodge Pole with participation by the Fort Belknap Catholic Church and Lodge Pole Assembly of God. A funeral service will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Rhea Goes Ahead from the Full Gospel Revival Tabernacle in Billings officiating. Michelle was born to Glenda "Bea" Has The Eagle of Lodge Pole and Douglas "Tiny" Main Sr. of Malta...

Dale Dean Kinniburgh, 66, died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, at Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes. His memorial service will be 2 p.m. next Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church with Adam Harris offi- ciating. A second memorial service and interment of the ashes will follow July 31 at the First Baptist Church in Marion. Dale was born Sept. 9, 1938, in Marion to John and Jeanette (Rawson) Kinniburgh. He attended the Marion schools and Flathead High School. Dale married Juanita Patton on March 7, 1958, in Norwalk, Calif....

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...

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....

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...

BIG SANDY - Errol Ben "Skip" Fisher, 58, of Box Elder died Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005, at Billings. No services are planned. Skip grew up in Big Sandy and graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1964. Some of his fondest memories as a teenager were hunting and fishing trips with his father. Skip will be remembered for his hill climbing days and his successful career as a car salesman. He sold cars across the state and owned his own car dealership. Skip was a jack of all trades and enjoyed making doll houses, sail boats and model c...

BIG SANDY - Errol Ben "Skip" Fisher, 58, of Box Elder died Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005, at Billings. No services are planned. Skip grew up in Big Sandy and graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1964. Some of his fondest memories as a teenager were hunting and fishing trips with his father. Skip will be remembered for his hill climbing days and his successful career as a car salesman. He sold cars across the state and owned his own car dealership. Skip was a jack of all trades and enjoyed making doll houses, sail boats and model c...

GREAT FALLS - Phil A. Yates, 84, died Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005, at a Great Falls hospital of natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Croxford and Sons in Great Falls with burial in Highland Cemetery. Phil was born April 28, 1920, in Fargo, N.D., to Martina and Philander Yates. He moved to Havre as a child. Following graduation from Havre High School, he served in the U.S. Army. He returned home after his discharge and began a lifetime career in banking. For years, Phil was president of Citizens B...

CHINOOK - Esther M. Sheets, 84, died Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005, at the Billings Grand Park Assisted Living, where she had been a resi- dent since October of 2003. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in the American Lutheran Church with interment at the Kuper Memorial Cemetery. Esther was born March 23, 1920, to George and Inga (Johnson) Kelly in Crosby, N.D. She was raised on the family farm until leaving in 1940. Esther married Ernest Lee Sheets on July 5, 1940, in Havre. Esther was a hard worker all of her life....

Albert "Bert" F. Roberts, 66, died Monday, Jan. 31, 2005, in Kennewick, Wash., due to cancer. A funeral service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at the Fifth Avenue Christian Church with burial following in Highland Cemetery. Bert was born April 24, 1938, to Albert H. "Bill" and Myrtle (Henderson) Roberts in Havre. He was raised in Havre and was active with the Havre Boxing Club for a number of years. Bert fought in the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Chicago in 1957. Bert married Lila Wood in Havre on November 15, 1958. He work...

Marjorie Wilson, 74, died Jan. 27, 2005, at Sweet Memorial Nursing Home in Chinook due to natural causes. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005, at 11 a.m. in St. Jude's Catholic Church with burial following in Highland Cemetery. Marjorie was born on April 23, 1930, in Havre to Alex and Mary (Donahue) Stewart. She was raised on the family farm west of Box Elder and she attended school there. Marjorie attended Northern Montana College, taking secretarial courses. Margie married Alvin "Bud" Wilson on Nov. 10,...

MINOT, N.D. - Clyde J. Pounds, of Minot, N.D., died Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005, at a Minot hospital. A funeral was held Monday morning at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home in Minot. Clyde was born April 6, 1928, in Minot to Henry and Alice (Walker) Pounds. He was raised and educated at Minot and attended Minot Model High School. Clyde enlisted in the U.S. Navy on April 6, 1946, and served during World War II. He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and was honorably discharged on Feb. 9, 1948. He worked as an apprentice brick l...