MARTHA WRIGHT obituary

CHESTER Martha Lambott Broadhurst Wright, 89, died Thursday, May 10, 2007, at the Liberty County Nursing Home in Chester.

Funeral services will be at 2 p. m. today at the Chester United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at the Chester Cemetery. She was born Martha Kroeker on Oct. 27, 1917, on the family farm south of Inverness. Her parents w e r e K a t r i n a Quiring and J a c o b K r o e k e r , and she was one of seven children. At age 1 M a r t h a ' s f a m i l y moved to North Dakota where she was baptized at the Congregational Church at Leeds. She also received her formal education at Leeds. At age 15, Martha and her brother (Pete) returned to the Montana farm with their mother. Martha met and married Fred Lambott in 1937. They lived on a farm south of Rudyard and had three children, Larry, Lance and Lois, before Fred died unexpectedly in 1942. The Lambott family moved to Chester in 1945 when Martha married her second husband, Claude Broadhurst. The product of this marriage was a daughter, Claudine. Unfortunately, husband Claude died in 1950, just five short years into their marriage. Martha's third husband was John “Jack” Wright, whom she wed in 1952. Their family of four grew to a family of six with the addition of two more daughters, Sherrie and Terri. They made their home in the Chester community. In those early years Martha worked various jobs, including cooking and cleaning at local restaurants and hotels, babysitting and cleaning houses. In 1960 she took a position as assistant cook at the Chester Public Schools, a job she held until her retirement in 1985. Martha and Jack were married 21 years at the time of his death in 1973. Martha continued to live in their Chester home until 2000, when she moved to the Sweetgrass Lodge. Her health remained relatively good until December 2006; she was diagnosed with cancer, so she transferred to the Chester nursing facility for extended care. Martha was a longtime member of the United Methodist Church in Chester. She belonged to many organizations over the years, including the Chester Garden Club, the Royal Neighbors of America, and the Liberty County Senior Center. In addition she was a 50-year member of the V.F.W. Auxiliary, serving as president for three years and secretary for 20 years. She was a loyal participant in the annual Veterans Day “Poppy Program”; of interest is one of her poppy projects is currently on display at the Liberty County Museum. She also served as an election judge for many years. Martha enjoyed all card games (especially, pinochle), board games, word-search puzzles, Bingo and reading. She made over 100 quilts in her lifetime; all of her children and grandchildren are fortunate to have at least one of her quilt keepsake. Her other interests included bowling and attending high school sporting events. Just for the fun of it, she collected Avon products for many years and more recently collected angel items (report has it that she currently had over 200 items of angel memorabilia). Martha's greatest love was her family. She looked forward to family dinners and gatherings. She was a good cook (who will be remembered for her delicious homemade dumplings and her special cookie treats for the grandchildren). She enjoyed many memorable trips to North Dakota, Oklahoma and Alaska to visit family members. She will be missed by those who loved her. Martha was preceded in death not only by her husbands, her parents, but also by a stepdaughter, Fran Wright Walborn; two grandchildren, Tracy Lambott and Matthew Duffin; three brothers, Jake and Pete Siemens and Dietrich Kroeker; and three sisters, Marie Siemens, Tina Johnson and Helena McCann. Survivors are her two sons, Larry (Pamela) Lambott of Fort Benton and Lance (Darla June) Lambott of Perry, Okla.; four daughters, Lois (Martin) Elber of Anacortes, Wash., Claudine (William) Flowers of Jamestown, N.D., Sherrie (Dave) Gulick of Fairfield, and Terri Duffin of Great Falls; 17 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Cletus Johnson of Chester and Dorothy Siemens of Billings; and many nieces and nephews. Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel of Chester.