MARY LOU HAMON obituary

SKIDMORE, Mo. - Mary Lou (Reid) Hamon, 77, formerly of Great Falls and Whitewater, died Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, from complications of diabetes at a hospital in Maryville, Mo.

A funeral service for Mary Lou was conducted at the Christian Church in Skidmore, Mo., on Nov. 23. Burial was at Hillcrest Cemetery in Skidmore. A memorial service for friends and family will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Fifth Avenue Christian Church, officiated by the Rev. Rowlie Hutton.

Mary Lou was born May 13, 1928, in Chinook to James and Julia (Miewald) Reid on her grandfather's ranch on Clear Creek south of Chinook. She graduated from Bremerton High School in Washington. She attended the University of Oregon and Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Ore., where she met her husband.

Mary Lou married Harold Hamon on Dec. 19, 1948, in Bremerton, Wash. Throughout her life she served the Lord alongside her minister husband in several churches in Montana. Her life was a celebration of ministry, teaching Sunday school classes, working with youth, singing, playing organ and piano, and serving in whatever way she could. She also led singing, did chalk art and conducted puppet programs in more than 200 revival crusades in 20 states. She worked very hard on the Little Rockies Christian Camp near Landusky and managed the promotional office at the Big Sky Christian Youth Ranch near Whitewater, which she helped found.

She loved to cook and always had a spare place at the table or a bed for a weary traveler. She enjoyed reading, crocheting, knitting and especially spending time with her family and grandchildren. She was seldom seen without her trademark smile.

Survivors include her husband of 57 years, Harold Hamon, of Skidmore; daughters, Linda Low of Malta, Sue Parrish of East Helena, Portia Donato of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Anita Thies of Great Falls; sons, Del Hamon of Troy, Kan., and Allen Hamon of Danville, Ill.; sisters, Virginia Payne of Port Orchard, Wash., and Betty Dahl, of Sacramento, Calif.; brother, James Reid of Bremerton, Wash.; 20 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Big Sky Ministries of Montana or the Little Rockies Christian Service Camp.