Obituary: Judith Louise Puckett

Judith Louise Puckett passed out of this world peacefully on the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2017 with her two loving daughters by her side and her schoolgirl heartthrob, Elvis Presley, filling the air with the gentle timbre of "Love Me Tender."

Judy was born the youngest of 10 children to Elsie (neé Mahlstedt) and Charles Motschenbacher Feb. 11, 1941, in Scobey, Montana. Growing up in the pioneer town of Peerless, she was a precocious child with a happy, fiery spirit and flaming red hair to match. Her father called her "his little beauty," and she grew to become one of the most intensely beautiful women ever to grace the Montana prairie. With her bright red hair, milky white skin, dark brown eyes, and strong German frame, she was in a league of her own.

Judy had many suitors, but when childhood friend and uniquely charming Gordon Ross Puckett courted her in high school, she was quickly swept off her feet. They were wed, shortly after Judy graduated, Sept. 26, 1959, at the Peerless Lutheran Church.

The following year their son, Edwin, was born. Their first daughter, Pamela, was born two years later, in 1962, and their youngest, Carmen, was born on New Year's Day, 1967.

Gordon was an educator and a principal, and Judy his stalwart and efficient assistant and secretary. They had brief stints in tiny country schools throughout Toole County before settling permanently in Sunburst, Montana.

Judy's career spanned 32 years, the last 19 of which spent at Sunburst Elementary. She and Gordon retired together in 1992, with the entire community attending a joyous ceremony and performance in their honor. Mr. and Mrs. P touched the hearts and fostered the intellectual growth of many during their tenure.

In their retirement from education, Judy and Gordon created Puckett Insurance Agency (now KW Insurance), and both became licensed insurance agents. As trusted pillars of their community, many chose to purchase insurance through them, and business grew steadily. They managed their affairs from home, setting up the insurance office in the basement, with Judy's desk an arm's length from Gordon's, just as they had always preferred.

Judy had many talents, not the least of which was her impressive physical strength or her command of horses. She rode bareback for most of her life, and broke wild horses with ease and grace. Riding on the backs of the many horses she broke over the years, with her long, wavy red hair taken by the wind, she possessed a raw and earnest feminine power rarely seen in this world.

Through life's many challenges, Judy's spirit and unfaltering dignity kept her standing straight, her head high, her gaze determined, and her heart open to those she loved. She was a dutiful, hard-working woman of the Montana prairie, a doting wife and partner, a loving mother, a playful grandmother, a dedicated educator, and a kind and caring friend of humans and animals alike. She will be forever remembered and cherished by all who knew her, and her bold spirit will live on in the quiet natural beauty of the windswept plains of eastern Montana.

Judy was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon Puckett; her son, Ed Puckett; her parents, Charles and Elsie Motschenbacher; her brother, Charles; her sisters, Marie Jensen and Lorraine Hansen; and her mother- and father-in-law, Norma and Ed Puckett.

She leaves behind her daughter, Pamela, and her husband, Gerry Veis; her daughter, Carmen, and her husband, Kelly Schafer; her daughter-in-law, Edna Puckett; her grandsons, Tanner Veis and Pete Puckett; her granddaughter, Mikyla Veis, and her husband, Robert Mueller; her sisters, Lois (Leonard) Studlien, Beulah (Don) Parpart, Barbara Nickola, Johanne (Vince) Vinson and Charlotte Jones; brother, Russell Motschenbacher; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

A service will be held Sunday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m., at Sunburst Lutheran Church. Memorials can be made to the animal shelter of your choice, The Sunburst Community Foundation or the Sunburst Lutheran Church.