Obituary - Ashley Raeann Oats

Ashley Raeann Oats, 25, No-ti-kwe Pi-pi-kwahn, Old Lady Whistle, passed away at Northern Montana Hospital on August 6, 2021.

Wake services will begin at 3:00 p.m. today, August 10, 2021, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Rocky Boy, MT, and will continue until her funeral at 10:00 a.m. August 11, 2021. Burial will follow at the Rocky Boy Cemetery.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

Ashley was born on January 23, 1996, in Havre, Montana to Heather Oats. She was raised in Rocky Boy, Montana, and graduated from Rocky Boy High School in 2014. After graduation, Ashley attended Stone Child College briefly before going to work for the Chippewa Cree Tribe until her health required her to stop working. She recently returned to college and was looking forward to the fall semester with her best friend Teshia.

Since before she could walk or talk, Ashley was a girly-girl princess. She loved shopping, dressing up, doing her makeup and nails, and fixing her hair; her fake eyelashes are stuck to every wall in her house. Her absolute favorite thing to do was listening to music and driving through the mountains in her Mustang. Her siblings Britney, Char, and Baby Chuck were her entire world and she loved being silly with them. She loved to eat, trying out new foods and making new recipes. She loved to travel, especially to the beach, to watch sunsets and write her name in the sand. In her short life, she traveled to so many places and was always planning her next trip, most recently her sister's 21st birthday in Las Vegas. If she wasn't with her mom or siblings, you could find Ashley taking a nap; we often teased her about how much she loved to nap. She was the type to stop and look at the sky and embraced every moment she had here on earth. Although she never had children of her own, she loved all babies, especially her nephew Zayn who she helped raise and babysat as much as she could.

Ashley was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease at 9 years old. Her diagnosis never stopped her from living life to the fullest. She remained optimistic and strong despite every setback. She took on every hospitalization and every surgery with unwavering strength and bravery. Her mom was there with her for every appointment, driving her to dialysis, and staying in the hospital with her; they have an unbreakable bond and love. We were looking forward to her finally being on the kidney transplant list so that she can live her life without pain.

Ashley was truly a light in the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to know her. Her sense of humor and words of encouragement will be missed the most. She never hesitated to help out everyone when she could and never went one day without telling her family and friends how much she loved them.

She was preceded in death by her uncles James Swan and George LaFromboise; grandfathers Ronald Swan and Donald James; grandmothers Theresa Harris and Ola Cochran; great-grandparents, James and Madeline Oats, Ruth and Dalton James and Mary Lodgepole.

Ashley is survived by her fur babies, Carlton Wetherby Oats and Wallace Earl Oats; parents, Heather Oats and Charles LaFromboise Sr .; biological father, Robert Cantrell Sr .; brothers, Charles LaFromboise, Jr., Robert Cantrell, Jr., and Jaymin Oats; sisters, Britney LaFromboise, Charlize LaFromboise, Tyler Azure, Jaylynn Azure, Aaron Cantrell, and Lauren Cantrell; special aunty/moms Jamie (Brian) Molina, Rose (Gerri Stiffarm) Cochran; nephew, Zayn Molina; grandparents Leona Swan, John "Muzzy" Oats, Leonard and Sharon Cantrell, Emma Harris, Joseph and Loranda LaFromboise, Jacque James, Darla and Daryl James, Tracy and Mitch King; Bobby Lee Cochran; and numerous grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends; best friends, Teshia Big Knife, Kylee Raining Bird, Payge Raining Bird, and Chanal Standing Rock.