LUCILLE STACK, obituary

Lucille Frances (Schlack) Stack, 87, died on Saturday, July 7, 2007, of natural causes at the nursing home in Big Sandy.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 14, at the Christ Lutheran Church in Big Sandy. Graveside services will be 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Highland Cemetery in Great Falls. Stack was born in Fort Benton to Big Sandy farmers Fred & Jennie (Enochson) Schlack on September 25, 1919. She was the eldest of three children. Stack received her education through eigth grade at the Mount Vernon Country School near the family farm. Her secondary education was achieved at Fort Benton and Big Sandy High School, where she graduated in 1937 as class salutatorian, second to her good friend, Adelle Myers, class valedictorian. Lucille continued her schooling for two years at Northern Montana College in Havre, where she earned her degree in secretarial sciences and graduated as valedictorian. She spent the following year working for the president at the college. She married her lifelong friend, Bertrand Paul Stack, on November 21, 1940. They farmed in the Spring Coulee area for most of their married life. After they retired in 1982, they moved into Big Sandy. Shortly before her husband's death on October 25, 2001, Lucille moved to the Big Sandy Medical Center. Stack was a lifelong member of Christ Lutheran Church and the Church Women's group. She had also been active in the Spring Coulee Hobby Club. She and her husband enjoyed serving on the 1970 Big Sandy Homecoming Committee and other events throughout the years. In a history book, she wrote many stories about her early life on the Schlack farm (formerly the Bender & Gardner places located 15 miles S.W. of Big Sandy). Stack noted that “her dad was Fred Schlack and there was another family who lived nearby whose dad was Fred Stack.” This second Fred eventually became Lucille's father-in-law! The story has it that the Stack's came over in a buggy to visit the Schlack's to welcome home from the hospital their new baby girl (Lucille). From that time on Lucille and Bert grew up together, went to school together, said their vows together, and remained a loving couple together for 61 years. They lived in the Spring Coulee area from 1941-1970. During that time they had their family of three sons; Francis Paul was born in 1942 to later become a pharmacist; Gary Willis born in 1945 and died in 1958 at age 12; and Donald Lee was born in 1950 and later became a pilot. When Lucille and Bert retired, they moved to the same house that her folks had built in Big Sandy in 1953. Stack loved knitting, sewing, handiwork, and crafts, oil-painting art projects, caring for her annual gardens and sharing her produce. She was a devoted wife to her sweetheart ,a loving mother to her boys, and a wonderful grandmother to her seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She will be missed by all. Survivors include her two sons, Francis (Karen) Stack of Chester and Don Stack of Corona, Calif.; her grandchildren, Michelle (Steve) Bahnmiller of Big Sandy, Dara (Kevin) Coates of Great Falls, Sean (Tracy) Stack and Jason (Trisha) Stack of Boise, Idaho, and Montana, Dallas and Ireland Stack, all of Aliso Viejo, Calif.; her greatgrandchildren (including Kallan, Tyce, Gavin, Layton, Trevor, Kennedy, and Aidan); her brother, Gordon (Una) Schlack of Helena; and 1 niece, Brenda Wahler of Helena. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son and sister. Memorials will be given to the Big Sandy Medical Center, the Christ Lutheran Church, or to Alzheimer's Research. Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester.