Obituary - Bebe Jean "Tootie" Kapperud

Bebe Jean "Tootie" Kapperud, 94, passed away at Northern Montana Care Center on Tuesday, December 3, 2019.

Her funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 7, 2019, at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Havre.

Memorial donations in Bebe's name may be made to the Northern Montana Care Center.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

Please visit Bebe's online memorial page at http://www.hollandbonine.com to leave a message of condolence for her family.

Bebe Jean was born May 10, 1925, at St. Peters Hospital in Helena, MT. A nurse at the hospital called her "Tootie" until her mother, Vivian, decided Bebe Jean would be her name.

Tootie grew up on a farm north of Gildford. She loved living at her grandmothers, Anna Bentz, who encouraged her love for horses and being outdoors. She later confessed she should have spent more time in the kitchen learning to cook instead.

Shortly after graduation from Gildford High School, Tootie married Leif Kapperud on June 5, 1943, in Hingham, MT. They made their home 20 miles north of Gildford where they raised three sons. Their farm operation included grain, cattle, chickens (eggs they sold in town), as well as large gardens. She was a very accomplished Norwegian sweet baker and she provided many delicious meals for family, friends, and harvest crews.

They moved to Gildford in 1959. Tootie was a member of Goldstone and Hingham Lutheran Churches and WELCA. She attended several national WELCA conventions, and she enjoyed membership with the local Home Demonstration Club and "Birthday Club." Leif and Tootie enjoyed dances on the Hi-Line and traveling around the U.S. and Eastern Europe with friends. She never missed many of her grandchildren's music and sporting events. She traveled with Leif many miles to NFO meetings statewide and nationally.

Bebe Jean is preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Leif; her parents, Vivian and Alfred Stiles; her brothers and sisters-in-law, Wally and Helen Floren, Claire and Gudrun Smith, and Norman and Donna Kapperud.

She is survived by her sons, Ron (Mary), Gary (Gail), and Bruce (Johanna) all of Gildford; seven grandchildren, Ryan (Christina), Kristen (Dave), Kara (Greg), Tyler (Melissa), Justine, Hali, and Ian; as well as eight great-grandchildren.