Obituary - Monica Faye Dillon

Monica Faye Dillon, "Red Paint Woman," 46, journeyed into the spirit world due to natural causes on Saturday, July 18, 2015, at Benefis West in Great Falls.

Wake services will begin at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2015, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fort Belknap. Rosary service will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, and her Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 21, 2015, also at Sacred Heart. Burial will follow in Big Warm Cemetery.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Please visit Monica's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for her family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Monica was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to Dewitt "Pinky" and Jolene (Buck) Dillon. She was raised in Pine Ridge and Fort Belknap, attending Holy Rosary Mission School and Harlem Elementary, and graduating from Flandreau Indian School in 1988.

Upon her graduation, Monica returned to Fort Belknap, and worked for a couple of years. She met Emerson "Emer" Stiffarm Jr., in 1990, and the couple began a lifetime relationship to which union was born two beloved daughters.

Monica continued to work as a secretary for various tribal entities until 2000, when the couple relocated to Great Falls. There, Monica worked as a home health aide for several years, until her declining health caused her to stop working.

Monica was a people person who loved spending time with her family and friends. She had a great sense of humor and loved teasing those close to her. When she was younger, she was an avid bingo player and loved powwows. She was a fancy dancer and was a former Miss Chief Joseph and Miss Fort Belknap. Her greatest love in life was her children.

Monica was preceded in death by her daughter Liani Leigh Stiffarm; her father, Dewitt "Pinky" Dillon; her nephew Derek Dillon; her aunt Mona Dillon; her cousins Randy Her Many Horses and Rosie Pourier; her grandparents, John and Florence (Long Knife) Capture, Joe Buck, Grace Pourier, Louis Pablo, John and Lorraine Dillon, and Lynnell and Dynnell Wing.

She is survived by her husband, Emerson "Emer" Stiffarm Jr. of Great Falls; her daughter, Dannell Stiffarm of Great Falls; her mother, Jolene Buck-Dillon of Fort Belknap; her sisters, Veronica "Cricket" Dillon and Lyolene "Lye" Dillon, both of Fort Belknap; her brother, Charles "Matt" Dillon of Fort Belknap; and her many beloved grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and other extended family and friends, including her beloved caregivers at Benefis West in Great Falls.