Jody Lynn Neibauer

Jody Lynn Neibauer, 52, of Havre, passed away on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at her residence of pancreatic cancer.  Cremation has taken place, and memorial vigil services will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, 2013, at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church.  Memorial Mass will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, June 7, 2013, at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church with Father Dan Wathen officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

Jody’s family has requested that memorials be made to Bear Paw Hospice or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements, and you can leave your memories/condolences for her family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Jody was born on May 19, 1961, in Havre, to Neil and Donna Neibauer. She was raised on the family farm north of Lohman, attending North Yantic Country School through eighth grade.  She graduated from Chinook High School in 1979 and continued her education at Montana State University, on the Bozeman and Northern campuses, receiving her bachelor’s degree in business. Jody married Dennis Schnittgen in June 1981, and their union was blessed with two wonderful daughters. The couple later divorced, but they remained close friends. Jody raised her daughters in Havre, working, but centering her life around her children.  She volunteered at their schools as much as she could. Jody worked as a manager at Kmart for more than 20 years, and for the last several years, she enjoyed managing IGA’s deli department, working through her illness up until May 10.

As a young woman, Jody loved to listen to the radio, challenging her loved ones to play their own little “Name That Tune” game, at which she excelled. She loved music, and was an exceptional self-taught artist. She enjoyed golfing, fishing, and spending time at her cabin in the Bear Paws, and she loved watching Atlanta Braves baseball. Jody was an avid runner, running in races all around Montana and in the Blooms Day Run in Spokane, Wash. She was a vibrant, bouncy, upbeat woman who was always smiling. And she stayed incredibly active until March 2011, when she began her hard fight with the cancer that eventually claimed her life.

Jody was preceded in death by her daughter, Hailey Schnittgen; her special friend Bert Smith; her father, Neil Neibauer; her aunt, Nancy Neibauer; and her grandparents, George and Hannah Neibauer and Clarence and Ellen Fincke.

She is survived by her daughter, Cassie Schnittgen (Trent Jackson) of Bozeman; her former spouse and lifetime friend, Dennis Schnittgen of Havre; her mother, Donna (Pat) Murdy of Chinook; her sister, Jill Maria Murdy of West Bend, Wis .; her brothers, Tom Neibauer and Jamie (Karla) Neibauer, both of Chinook, Jim (Lisa) Murdy of San Jose, Calif., John Murdy of Helena, and Joel (Charlie) Murdy of Belgrade, Mont .; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.