JUNE AMY KELLEY Obituary

CHESTER - June Amy Kelley, 89, died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003, at a Chester nursing home.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chester.

June was born in Lamont, Iowa, to Ray and Amy (Lewis) Toole on Oct. 30, 1913. She grew up and received her early education in Iowa. At age 10, she moved with her family to Bozeman, where she finished her formal schooling.

June married Marion F. Kelley in Bozeman on Nov. 27, 1930. They made their home in Bozeman, where she was a homemaker and mother of seven. June and her husband moved to Havre in 1959, then to Chester in 1962. Her husband worked as a butcher at the County Fair Food Center. When he died on Jan. 5, 1976, they had been married for 45 years.

June lived at the Sweetgrass Lodge in Chester for five years and then transferred to the Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester in 1994.

June was described as a "busy lady" during her life. In Bozeman, she was active in the Eagles Club and the Grand Avenue Christian Church. She and her husband took a geology course at Montana State University and became avid rockhounds. They collected, cut and polished many beautiful rocks and gems and made jewelry from the best specimens. June was awarded a sweepstakes fossil case from the Northwest Federation in recognition of her superb collection. She donated this case and collection to the Liberty County Museum for permanent display.

In Chester, June became active in the Royal Neighbors of America, the Eastern Star and served as a Rainbow adviser. She volunteered as a leader of the Campfire Girls and served on the Chester Garden Club. She was the first of the Garden Club members to plant flowers at the city park. She was a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church and W.E.L.C.A.

June was an artistic woman. She worked as a private seamstress during her early married years. She sewed wedding dresses and draperies, and did upholstery work. She also baked and decorated wedding cakes. She enjoyed art, did freehand oil painting, made silk flowers and floral arrangements, and enjoyed knitting and crocheting. She collected thimbles, bells and lead-crystal glassware. She was an excellent ice skater in her youth. She enjoyed family camping, hiking, rockhounding, cooking, baking, and watching her favorite soap operas on television. She will always be remembered as a loving mother and grandmother.

June was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brother, Lewis Toole; sons-in-law, Henry "Smitty" Smith and Richard "Dick" Overlie; one grandchild; two great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Survivors include her sons, Marion "Jim" (Bobbie) Kelley of Helena, Shelby "Joe" (Shirley) Kelley of Great Falls, Lewis "Bud" (Romi) Kelley of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ray (Kareen) Kelley of Bakersfield, Calif.; daughters, Amy Smith of Havre, Dorothie (Paul) Overlie of Chester and Bonnie (Gary) Eppers of Fort Benton; 26 grandchildren, including one she raised from infancy; 53 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be given to the Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester.

Cremation and arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester.