Obituaries

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...

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...

William F. Stewart, 77, died Friday, Dec. 19, 2003, at his home surrounded by his family after a long battle with cancer. A prayer vigil will be held at 7 p.m. today at the St. Jude Catholic Church with the funeral Mass at 1 p.m. Tuesday at St. Jude Catholic Church with the Rev. Robert D. Grosch officiating. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery. William "Bill" was born on March 10, 1926, in Havre to Robert and Rosa (Tucker) Stewart. Bill was raised and educated in Havre and graduated from Havre High School. He also...

CHINOOK - Dave Sprinkle, 89, died Saturday, Dec. 20, 2003, at a Chinook nursing home due too natural causes. A rosary will be held at 7 p.m. today in St. Gabriel's Catholic Church. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in St. Gabriel's Catholic Church with burial following in Kuper Memorial Cemetery with military honors. Dave was born on Nov. 20, 1914, in Havre to Charles and Corona (Bessette) Sprinkle. He attended schools in Havre and graduated from Havre High School in 1932. Dave married Betty McCartney on July 8, 1941,...

MISSOULA - Joyce E. Bunton, 56, of Missoula, died Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003, at a Missoula hospital. A service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula. Services will be held later in Libby. Joyce was born on Dec. 24, 1946, in Havre. She was preceded in death by her parents and a son, William. Survivors include her husband, Jim of Missoula; children, James Bunton Jr. of Libby, Leasa Markwardt and husband Ken Petersen of Missoula, Robert Bunton in the armed forces, Nate (Julie) Bunton of...

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...

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...

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...

Kable Kain Williams, 19, of Havre, formerly of Broadus, died at his home in Havre on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003. Visitation will begin on Friday at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Broadus. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Broadus. Interment will follow in the family lot in the Valley View Cemetery in Broadus. Kable was born on Jan. 23, 1984, to Lacy and Starlean (Perkins) Williams in Miles City. He lived on the family ranch south of Broadus and attended schools in Broadus and Miles...

Diane Rose Russette, 39, died Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003, at a Great Falls hospital due to kidney failure. A wake service was to begin at 2 p.m. today with a rosary to begin at 7 p.m. at the Rocky Boy Lutheran Church. A funeral service will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the Rocky Boy Lutheran Church with the Rev. Pete Guthneck officiating. Burial will be held at the Russette Family Cemetery. Diane was born on June 19, 1964, in Havre to Calvin and Carol (Caplette) Russette. She was raised and educated at Rocky Boy and graduated from Box...

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. - The Rev. Robert D. Bitterman, 71, died Monday, Dec. 15, 2003. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Calvary Baptist Church in Powder Springs with the Rev. Snyder Turner officiating. Interment will follow at Powder Springs Memorial Gardens. Bitterman was born on Aug. 13, 1932, in Havre. He received his master of divinity in 1961. Bitterman was the pastor of Christ Memorial Baptist Church in Warren, Ohio, for 33 years. After being a minister for more than 50 years, he retired in 1997 and...

POTOMAC - Stacey Ann "Stace" Ambo, 39, died Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003. Memorial Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kings Christian Church at 10225 South, U.S. Highway 93 between Missoula and Lolo. Stace was born on Jan. 25, 1964, in Great Falls to Victor Ambo and Doris Fae Tompkins. She attended Bonner Grade School and Hellgate High School. In 1981, she married Larry D. Bush of Seeley Lake. In 1995, she married David Skones of Havre. Stace was a spiritual person. She held her church families at the Sixth Avenue Christian...

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...

ROCKY BOY - LeRoy Charles "Dakota" Windyboy, whose Indian names were Piyesis and Wahpos, 53, of Rocky Boy died Monday, Dec. 8, 2003, at a Havre hospital after a long illness. A wake service began Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Rocky Boy Catholic Church. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Rocky Boy Catholic Church with the Rev. Pete Guthneck officiating and Marvin Russette performing the Indian traditions. Burial will be held after the services at the Rocky Boy Cemetery. LeRoy was born on Jan. 14, 1950, to...

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...

George Albert Turbak, 89, died Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, at a Havre care facility after a long battle with cancer. A public viewing will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Home. A rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Holland and Bonine Funeral Chapel with a vigil service at 7 p.m. with Tim Maroney officiating. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the St. Jude Thaddeus Church with the Rev. Robert D. Grosch officiating. George was...

Violet M. Swick, 70, of Cut Bank died Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, at a Shelby care center due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday with visitation starting one hour prior to service time at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Cut Bank. A luncheon will follow at the Moose Lodge. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Highland Cemetery in Havre, with a reception to follow at the Vet's Club. Violet was born on Feb. 14, 1933, to Albert and Dorothy (Schaffer) Knudson in Havre...

CHINOOK - Dorothy (Dot) Nelson, 70, died at a Havre hospital due to natural causes on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003. A memorial service was held Saturday afternoon in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. Cremation has taken place. Dorothy was born on June 30, 1933, in Malta to Frank and Mary (Dove) Fanning. She attended schools in the Malta area. Dorothy married Elmer William Nelson in Havre on Aug. 8, 1949. She enjoyed camping, bowling, and was a lifelong member of the VFW. Dorothy worked as a waitress in Malta, Lewistown and Billings....

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...

CHINOOK - Esther Dougherty, 81, of Chinook died Friday, Nov. 28, 2003, at a Chinook nursing home due to natural causes. A funeral service will be Friday at 2 p.m. in the American Lutheran Church with burial following in Kuper Memorial Cemetery. Esther was born on Dec. 1, 1921, on the family farm north of Chinook to Martin and Gina (Halingstad) Monson. She attended local schools and graduated from Chinook High School. She married Howard Dougherty on Dec. 1, 1939, in Chinook. Esther worked at the Dime Store and U & I Sugar...

MISSOULA - Nancy A. "Grammy" Stulc, 54, died early Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003, at her home in Missoula due to cancer. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Friday, Dec. 12, at 1 p.m. at Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 200 44th St. South, Great Falls. Nancy was born to Bert and Dorothy Reiner in Choteau on Sept. 23, 1949. She graduated from Choteau High School in 1968 and Northern Montana College in 1973. She earned a double Bachelor of Science degree in history and English with a teaching certificate. She met Rod...

FORT BELKNAP - Luetta Irene (Van Hollan) Rock, 60, died Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003, at a Havre hospital due to a lengthy illness and heart complications. A wake service was held Friday evening in Red Whip Center at Fort Belknap Agency. A funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday in Red Whip Center at Fort Belknap Agency. Burial was to follow at Pony Hill Cemetery. Luetta was born to Laura Irene (Sanquins) Rudie and the late Everett Van Hollan on July 30, 1943, in Havre. Luetta was a trained practical nurse and was...