ANN DOMIRE obituary

RUDYARD - Ann Domire, who taught at many Hi-Line country schools in the late 1920s and 1930s, then became a Rudyard farm wife and homemaker, died at the Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester Friday, Oct. 15, 2004, the day after her 97th birthday.

Her funeral Mass was scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Church with the Rev. Joseph Diekhans officiating. Burial was to follow at the Hingham Cemetery with a reception to follow at the church.

Ann Margaret Sohm was born on Oct. 14, 1907, at Danbury, Iowa, to Joseph and Mary (Stork) Sohm. In 1914, the Sohm family came to Montana and settled at Kremlin. The following year they moved to Fresno, where they operated a small farm, tavern, restaurant and hotel. Ann received her early schooling at Fresno, then finished her secondary education at Havre. She graduated from Havre High School in 1926. She went on to attend Montana Normal College at Dillon, where she earned her teaching credentials in 1930. In the few years that followed, Ann taught at numerous Hill County country schools, including South Fresno, Cottonwood, Miller, North Kremlin and Brennan. In 1935 she was awarded a Montana lifetime teaching certificate.

When Ann was teaching at the Brennan School north of Hingham, she met an area farmer, Bennie Domire, who would eventually become her husband. They were married on Sept. 21, 1937, at Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Church in Hingham. They made their home on Bennie's farm north of Rudyard, where Ann worked diligently as a farm wife and mother of four. After 40 years on the farm, the Domires retired in 1977 and moved into town. They were married 42 years when Bennie died in 1979. Ann remained in their Rudyard home until 1995, when she fell and broke her hip, then transferred to the Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester.

Ann was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic faith and remained loyal to her beliefs throughout her life. She was a dedicated member of Our Lady of Ransom, never missing Mass on Sundays and holy days, and was an ardent worker in the Ladies Altar Society. She prayed the rosary on a regular basis for personal strength and hope.

Ann was also a charter member of the Rudyard Home Demonstration Club. She loved caring for her flowers and working in her garden. She was an excellent seamstress, a good cook, and an amateur pianist, harmonicist and singer. She loved to play pinochle, collect stamps and complete crossword games and jigsaw puzzles.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents; husband; sons, Joe in 1996 and Clarence in 2001; siblings, Frank and Joe Sohm, Theresa Plenger, Mary Bailey, and Ida Trulson.

Survivors include her daughters, Dianne (George) Folk of Rudyard and Kathleen (Rodney) Tibbetts of Hawley, Minn .; daughters-in-law, Barbara Domire of Rudyard and Joanne Domire of Fairfax, Va .; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grand-children; and several nieces and nephews.

Arrangements by Rockman Funeral Chapel, Chester