MILDRED RAMBO obituary

GILDFORD - Mildred Gertrude "Millie" Rambo, 75, died peacefully in her sleep at her son's home in Havre on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the First Lutheran Church in Havre. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery in Havre.

Mildred Gertrude

"Millie" Rambo was born on April 6, 1928, at Doran, Minn., to Jorgen and Gertrude (Bertram) Ellingson. Millie grew up in Minnesota and received her formal education there.

In the early 1950s she came to Montana to see a friend and began working in the Havre and Hingham communities.

Millie met her husband-to-be, Arthur H. ("Art") Rambo, and they were married May 4, 1952, at Hingham. They made their home on the Rambo farm 5 miles northwest of Gildford, where Millie worked diligently as a farmwife, homemaker, and mother of five.

In 1963 Art and Millie began building a new house on the ranch. They did essentially all of the work themselves, and were extremely proud and happy with the results of their three-year endeavor. They made this house their home for the rest of their married life together. They were married 46 years when Art died in 1998. Millie remained on the farm until last spring, when her health began to fail, so she moved to Havre to live with a son and be closer to medical facilities.

Millie was a member of the Gildford Baptist Church. She was also active in the Democratic Party and had been a member of the Montana Association of Counties. She enjoyed traveling to meetings and supporting her husband, Art, during his 13-year tenure as a Hill County commissioner.

Millie enjoyed sewing, crocheting, and crafts; she made many quilts, afghans, and other gift items for family and friends over the years. She planted a lot of trees on the farm, loved her flower gardens, and had a "green-thumb" for houseplants. Millie also enjoyed photography. She took and indexed literally thousands of photographs of her family and special events. In another related hobby, she organized newspaper clippings and photos of Hi-Line events and people into historical scrapbooks. She also enjoyed genealogy and did detailed research on the Ellingson and Rambo family trees. And she collected butterfly memorabilia and china cups-and-saucers.

Millie was a meticulous housekeeper and an exceptional cook. Some of her favorite family dishes were her baked beans, fried chicken and gravy, homemade breads, and meringue pies.

The Rambo children affectionately called Millie "Moth." She loved her family and was very proud of all of her grandchildren.

Millie was preceded in death by her parents; husband; grandson, Josh; and sister, Darlene.

Survivors include her children, Karen (Doug) Ferris of Choteau, Kathy (Gary) Glock of Havre, Steve (Pegi) Rambo of Havre, Curt (Mary Kay) Rambo of Gildford, and Kim Rambo Reinmuth of Great Falls; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sister, Beverly Winther of Fergus Falls, Minn.; brother, Raymond (Shirley) Ellingson of Doran, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.

Arrangements by Rockman Funeral Chapel, Chester.