Obituary - Dena Rudio

Dena Rudio, 53 years young, passed away peacefully but unexpectedly in her sleep in the early hours of Saturday November 27th, 2021.

A celebration of her life will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 9, 2021, at Holland and Bonine Funeral Home with Ila McClenahan officiating. A reception will follow at the Havre Elks Lodge. Her ashes will be interred at a later date.

Memorials in Dena's memory can be made to the VFW Post 497, VFW Auxiliary Post 497, or the charity of the donor's choice.

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

Dena was born in Kalispell, MT, January 9, 1968, to Douglas and Vergene Rudio, the fifth of six girls, arriving just 10 short minutes before her twin sister Donna. She was raised and educated in Whitefish, MT, receiving her GED in 1986.

Shortly after high school, she joined her sisters Sheila and Robin up in Alaska. While in Alaska, she welcomed her daughter Savannah into the world. About a year or so later she returned to Montana.

She attended MSU-Northern receiving a degree in elementary education with a minor in reading. Dena had many jobs in her short time here on earth that included working in family restaurants and a fish cannery while living up in Alaska. She loved her time as a teacher, working as a dispatcher for the Hill County Sheriff's department, and her time as a front desk clerk at the Super 8 in Havre, where she had been working for the last nine years. Her favorite job, though, was being a mother.

Dena loved to color, read, relax, and do crossword puzzles and word searches. She loved to sing karaoke, and especially loved to sing at the Veterans and Memorial Day ceremonies. She was even invited to sing at a ceremony up in Canada. There are so many things that could be said about her and how amazing she was. She would want us to laugh and remember all the good times we had together, not to cry or be sad that she is no longer physically here with us. She will always be in our hearts and in our minds.

Dena was preceded in death by her parents, Douglas and Vergene Rudio; sister Sheila Block; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Left to carry on her memory, she leaves behind her daughter, Savannah (Jennifer) Thomas of Havre, MT; sisters Kathy (Steve) Sundstrom of White Sulphur Springs, MT, Laurie Cook of Helena, MT, Robin Rudio of Wellington, CO, and Donna (Greg) Tilleman of Havre, MT, and numerous nieces and nephews.