JOSEPHINE BUBNASH obituary

Josephine “Jo” Bubnash, 82, longtime Chester resident, died Sunday morning, Oct. 22, 2006, at Blossom House Assisted Living in Yakima, Wash.

Funeral Mass will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chester. Burial will follow at the Chester Cemetery. Jo was born Jan. 17, 1924, on the family farm south of Chester to Polish parents, Stanislaw “Stanley” Kantorowicz and Katherine Lopata. Jo received her formal education at the nearby Hay Coulee Country School, located in the “Warsaw” community south of Chester. Following her school years, Jo remained on the family farm to help her mother, who died in 1941. Jo married a neighboring farmer, Nicholas C. Bubnash Sr., on Nov. 12, 1942, at Shelby. The following year, Nick and Jo acquired their own farm in the south Joplin/Chester community, where they lived and worked throughout most of their married life. In addition to raising seven children, they worked hard raising wheat, barley, oats, hay, many farm animals and a big vegetable garden each year. Josephine suffered from a hereditary blood disorder called porphyria and she was diagnosed with polio in 1946. At that time, she spent more than five months convalescing at the Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls. She developed chronic weakness in her right knee, which became debilitating in her later years, requiring the use of canes and crutches. The Bubnashes moved to Joplin in 1976 and lived there for 18 years. In 1994, they moved to Chester. After Nick's health began to fail, they sold their Chester home in 2001 and transferred to Yakima to be closer to a daughter, Sue. After 58 years of marriage, Nick died at age 93 in Yakima on May 16, 2001. Jo remained in Yakima until 2003, then went to Olympia, Wash., to live with daughter Nancy for a year. She returned to Montana to live with daughter Judy in Billings. In December of 2005, Jo went back to Yakima to a retirement home. About two months ago, she developed major health complications, so she transferred to Blossom House Assisted Living. Jo enjoyed many hobbies. She loved gardening, especially growing flowers. She was a fantastic cook and baker, making all of her breads, cinnamon rolls, pies and cookies from scratch. In her younger years, Jo played the accordion and guitar, and her love of music continued into adulthood. Her favorite country-western artists were Buck Owens, Ernest Tubbs and Hank Williams. She also enjoyed listening to the local musicians. She also enjoyed watching television. Her favorite shows were “Wheel of Fortune,” “Price is Right” and comedies. Jo liked to play cards, mainly, pinochle, and she collected porcelain dolls, antique cars and trucks, and plates. She loved to exchange letters with family and friends. She also loved to shop from catalogs and send gifts to her loved ones.

She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; sisters, Julia McIntyre, Sophie Lalum, Agnes Kantorowicz, Anna Manchuk and Sister Susanne (Helen); and brothers, John, Frank, Chester and Carl Kantorowicz. Survivors include her daughters, Andrea Kinyon of Chester, Judy Buflod of Billings, Sue Bubnash of Yakima, Nancy Wuerth of Olympia, Debra Harris of Gilbert, Ariz., and Connie Limesand of Snohomish, Wash.; son, Nick Bubnash of Whitefish; 12 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; sisters, Mary Ennis of Spokane, Wash., Bessie Wanken of Chester, Ruth Corbett of Kalispell and Bernice McCabe of Muskogee Okla.; brother, Al Biggs of Tonasket, Wash.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Rockman Funeral Chapel of Chester.