SHIRLEY LYBECK obituary

CHESTER - Shirley Lybeck, 75, of Chester died Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003, at a her home of natural causes.

A funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chester with the Rev. Pete Erickson officiating. Burial was to follow at the Chester Cemetery, followed by a luncheon at the church.

Shirley was born on Aug. 26, 1928, in Havre to Floyd and Jenniemae (Arnold) Hader. She grew up in Chester and received her education there. She graduated from Chester High School in 1946. During her formative years, Shirley was a waitress at the old Grand and Mint cafes in Chester. The summer after graduation, she worked for the Great Northern Railway in the construction of tunnel No. 2 near East Glacier. She was later employed at Buttreys in Havre where she sold fur coats.

Shirley married Clifford Lybeck in Havre on Feb. 8, 1947. They moved to the Lybeck ranch 38 miles north of Chester and Shirley became farmwife, homemaker and mother.

Shirley was a longtime member of the Liberty County Hospital Guild and helped organize the U-Shoppe. She also served on the Chester and Laird school boards, the Liberty County Hospital Board, and the Counsel on Aging. She was a 50-year member of the Bears Paw Home Demonstration Club and a longtime member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, where she served many years as a Sunday school teacher. She enjoyed her work with the Broken Mountain Genealogy Society and was chairwoman of the Liberty County Museum. She supported Chester school programs and events and served on several all-school reunion committees. She volunteered in the RISE Reading Program in Chester schools. She also was a 4-H mother and leader and continued to volunteer as a 4-H judge long after her children had grown. She was an active member of the VFW Auxiliary, Liberty County Chamber of Commerce, Liberty County Health Planning Committee, Triangle Health Care Rural Health Clinic Advisory Committee, and Russell Country. In 1981, she was selected Montana Mother of the Year. She was selected Liberty County Citizen of the year in 2000 and in 2001 she was selected Senior Citizen of the Year in Liberty County.

In the late 1980s, Clifford and Shirley began spending their winters at Lake Havasu City, Ariz. After 12 winters in Arizona, the Lybecks purchased a home in Chester for their retirement years.

Shirley enjoyed playing pinochle and whist at family gatherings, playing marbles on the linoleum floor with her grandchildren, listening to old Western music, working her garden and reading. She collected Heston belt buckles, Smurfs, Matchbox cars, dishes and Zane Grey novels. She was an avid sports fan, especially of her children and grandchildren, and was a staunch fan of the San Francisco 49ers.

Shirley was preceded in death by her son, Calvin in 1995; sisters, Roberta Beals and Margaret Woods; and her parents.

Survivors include her husband, Cliff Lybeck of Chester; children Lynda Colbry of Portland, Ore., Lonna (Butch) Tempel of Joplin, Janis Hanson of Spokane, Wash., Judy (Russ) Tempel of Chester, Kip (Delia) Lybeck of Joplin, Colin (Julie) Lybeck of Chester and Chad (Jayna) Lybeck of Cheyenne, Wyo.; 23 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to any of the civic organizations Shirley loved.

Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel, Chester.