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ANNA GARD
BELFRY — Anna Gard, 79, of Belfry, died Monday afternoon, Dec. 13, 1999 of natural causes in her home.
She was born Feb. 9, 1920 in Loveland, Colo., a daughter of George and Christina Weickum. Anna was raised and went to school in Colorado.
On Jan. 20, 1939 she married Oscar (Pete) Gard in Boulder, Colo. They came to Belfry in October of 1941, and moved to Powell, Wyo., in 1950 and to Cody in 1963. After retiring, they returned to Belfry in 1982.
Anna worked as a cook at various places, and she enjoyed fishing, rock hunting, gardening and crocheting. She attended the Belfry United Methodist Church, and while in Cody belonged to the Good Neighbors Home Club.
Survivors include her husband, Pete Gard of Belfry; one daughter, Carol Lee Gard of Peoria, Ill.; and four sisters, Bertha Pepmeyer and Clara Horst, both of Denver, Colo., Ruth Horst of Johnstown, Colo., and Esther Prior of Merced, Calif.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Ben, George and Victor, and three sisters, Ramona, Elsie and Nathalia.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Olcott Funeral Chapel in Red Lodge. Cremation followed, with interment at a later date in the Belfry Cemetery.
Memorials may be given to the American Heart Association, 2812 First Ave. North, Billings, MT 59101.
PATTERSON JONES SCHMIDT
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Patterson Jones Schmidt, 65, of Key Biscayne, Florida, died Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1999 in her home after a short illness.
Patter was born on Jan. 26, 1934 in Billings to Robert R. and Frances (Bearss) Jones. Well-known locally as a gifted pianist, she attended local schools and Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. In 1954, she married Herbert Schmidt of Riverside, Ill., and had four children before moving in 1967 to Miami, where she taught piano. She returned to Montana every summer to visit the family cabin in Red Lodge.
In the past decade, she traveled with her family around the world to destinations including India, Turkey, Guatemala, Austria, England, Thailand, Singapore and Italy.
Survivors include two daughters, Gretchen and Ann; two sons, Robert and James; and three grandchildren, Katie Sullivan, and Kristina and Ricky Schmidt, all of Miami. She was preceded in death by her husband.
Cremation was held in Miami. Her remains will be scattered in Red Lodge.
DUANE E. ROWE
HELENA — Duane E. Rowe, 28, of Helena, passed away Dec. 13, 1999 at his home. Arrangements are being made by Hagler-Anderson Mortuary of Helena.
FRANK STICKA
BELFRY — Frank Sticka, 76, quietly passed away in his sleep Dec. 13, 1999 at Parkview Care Center in Billings. He fought a courageous battle after sustaining a severe head injury on May 29, 1992.
He was born in Saint Pius, N.D., on March 22, 1923, the son of Jacob and Rosa (Heidt) Sticka. He was raised on the family farm until the family moved to Sidney, Mont. Frank entered the U.S. Army on Feb. 9, 1944, along with his two brothers, Louie and Joe. The three of them were shipped out to the territory of Hawaii. Frank received the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Victory Medal. Frank served with the 972nd Signal Service Battalion as a sergeant. He was a motor noncommissioned officer supervising and directing the activities and operations of 20 personnel, including drivers, and he operated heavy, light and various other military vehicles. He set up, executed and maintained schedules, routed and assigned drivers to vehicles, including the transportation of special equipment. He was responsible for the proper handling and hauling of radar, radar equipment and all supplies and equipment for the signal corps operations. Frank received an honorable discharge on March 17, 1946 from Ft. Lewis, Wash.
He met his bride to be, May Mischel, in Sidney, and they married April 12, 1948. In 1954, after starting a family, they moved to Billings. With mobile home and family in tow, they moved from job to job, state to state, while working in the construction field with Holland Construction, R.J. Studer and Sons, Prince, Inc., and Mike Holland. He built roads and dams throughout Montana, Wyoming, Washington and Idaho, and mined gold in Alaska. In 1976, Frank and May bought a farm on the Clarks Fork River. Mom and Dad raised farm animals and pets until death. Frank later married Kathern A. Webb.
Survivors include his four sons and their wives, Gordon and Rita and Miles and Mary (PeeWee) of Billings, Jerry and Sandy of Belfry and Gerard and Evelyn of Boulder City, Nev.; four daughters and their husbands, Kathleen and Anton Kydland of Billings, Darlene and Marvin Stephens of Big Timber, Marlene and Mike Walter of Billings and Kim and Ed Evanson of Billings; 30 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; a brother, Joseph, and his wife Katie; sisters Rose and Francis Boyer and Monica (Don) Zoanni, all of Sidney and Joan Ostrum of Fort Shaw; sisters-in-law Leona Sticka of Billings and Delores (Sticka) Soelter of Dolensprings, Ariz., and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Theresa (Mike) Bosch, Emma, Betty (Bob) Gonzales, Baida (Joe) Heiser, and an infant sister at birth, and brothers, John (Margaret), Louis and Jack.
He loved fishing, playing cards and telling his funny stories. Dad will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Keep that big smile of yours no matter where you go.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service was held at Smith’s Funeral Chapel Downtown Dec. 18, 1999. Interment of ashes followed services at Holy Cross Cemetery. Memorials may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
John Clayton (Jack) Williams
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — John Clayton (Jack) Williams, 93, formerly of Belfry, died Monday, Dec. 6, 1999 in Mountainview Medical Center in White Sulphur Springs where he had resided since April of 1998.
Jack was born on April 27, 1906 in Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, a son of Herbert and Viola Maude Williams. The family moved to the Luther area when he was nine years old. Jack attended the Jackson and Draper schools.
On July 19, 1926 Jack married Anna J. Lorash in Red Lodge. They lived in the Joliet area until moving to the Tolman Ranch at Clark, Wyo. in 1941. After leaving Tolman's, Jack worked on ranches in the White Sulphur Springs area until moving to Belfry in 1984.
He was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters, two brothers, two sons, two grandsons and two sons-in-law.
Survivors include three daughters, Laura Nottingham and Viola Braten, both of Belfry, and Patricia Arthun of Joliet; seven sons, Charles of Hardin, Ray of Harlem, Vernon of Lewiston, Idaho, Ronald of Nampa, Idaho, Bill of Joliet, Elmer of Tucson, Ariz., and Melvin of Amada, Ariz.; one sister, Fern Huver in Minnesota; 35 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, 10 great-great grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Jack is also survived by this long-time companion, Carrie Stidham of White Sulphur Springs.
Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10 in the Olcott Funeral Chapel in Red Lodge. Interment was in the John Henry Cemetery.
William "Bill" R. Mackay, Sr.
William "Bill" R. Mackay, Sr. died quietly Monday night due to complications from a heart attack and kidney failure at the Stillwater Community Hospital at the age of 88. He was surrounded by family and friends.
Bill established residence at the Lazy E-L Ranch near Roscoe in June of 1935. He married Joyce Childs on Jan. 8, 1937, in Englewood, N.J., and brought her back to the Lazy E-L where they lived for over 60 years in the "Big House." They had three children, Julie, Helen and Bill Jr.
Bill's father, Malcolm Mackay, homesteaded on Morris Creek near Roscoe in 1901. Bill took over the ranch operations in 1935 and was joined by his son, William R. Mackay Jr. in a ranch partnership in 1972 which lasted for 20 years. Starting in 1993, Bill's grandson, Derek Kampfe, became the current manager of the Lazy E-L. Out of his love for ranching and agriculture, Bill became involved in Montana Stockgrower's Association, serving on the board of directors and then for two years as its board president. He also served for four years as a board member of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Bill always demonstrated loyalty to his family and the ethic of service to his community. This was reflected by Bill's constant volunteering on many boards of directors, including the Roscoe School Board, the Home of Champions Rodeo Board, Carbon County Memorial Hospital Board, Carbon County Historical Society, Red Lodge Music Festival, and the Board of Rocky Mountain College. Bill also served on the Montana Historical Society board of trustees from 1951 to 1961, and again from 1981 to 1996. Bill was the second president of Grizzly Peak Corporation, Red Lodge Mountain Resort. During his term as president, the upper mountain was developed and the upper lift built.
Politics brought Bill from Roscoe to Helena and to Washington. Bill served as state representative in the Montana Legislature from 1951 to 1953 and as state senator in Helena from 1953 to 1972. During that time, he served as a member of the Commission on the Re-organization of State Government, on the Montana Legislative Council from 1953 to 1959 (chairman 1957 to 1959), and on the Montana Legislative Audit Committee from 1959 to 1965 (chairman 1959 to 1961). Bill was Republican state chairman from 1953 to 1955 and Republican national committeeman from 1972 to 1980.
A collector of vintage cars from the '20s and '30s, Bill enjoyed displaying his cars in the Fourth of July parade in Red Lodge. Each year, he would fill his 1920s Yellowstone Park bus with children, grandchildren, and friends, and drive down Main Street, waving and throwing candy.
As patron of the arts, Bill had a passion specifically for music and supported both the Billings Symphony and the Red Lodge Music Festival. A fine musician himself, Bill played classical music on the piano, but his greatest love was Dixieland Jazz. Whether at a family gathering on the ranch or a community party at the Roscoe School House or the Grizzly Bar, Bill would be at the piano surrounded by family and friends.
Bill is survived by his sister, Mary Ellen Wang; his three children, Julie, Helen, and Bill Jr.; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Red Lodge Community Church followed by a reception at the Roscoe Community Center. Memorials may be sent to the Red Lodge Music Festival, Montana Historical Society, Beartooth Hospital and Health Center, or The Absarokee Brookside Retirement Home.
AUGUSTIN S. HART, JR.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Augustin S. “Gus” Hart, Jr., former vice- chairman of the Quaker Oats Company and founder of the Inter-American Foundation, died at Lake Forest Hospital Dec. 8, 1999.
He was born Aug. 5, 1915 at Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of Augustin Snow and Alice O’Connor Hart.
He was educated in Garden City, N.Y. schools, and graduated from Princeton University in 1937. He advanced his education at the London School of Economics, the Wharton School of Finance, and through extensive travel throughout Latin America and Europe.
He married Margaret J. Stuart April 11, 1942 at Lake Forest. After World War II, they lived on Long Island, N.Y., moving to Lake Forest in 1960.
Hart, an accomplished linguist, worked for the Quaker Oats company from 1937 until his retirement as vice-chairman in 1980. Most of his time there was spent building and managing the company’s international division.
While on Quaker business, he was in Holland when the Germans invaded that nation, partly by parachute, in 1940. During detainment, he became Assistant Naval Attaché for the American Embassy at The Hauge.
Commissioned as a horse cavalry officer through the ROTC program at Princeton, Hart joined the 82nd Division as it was being transitioned for airborne assault in January, 1942. He left active duty in February, 1946, a highly decorated Lt. Colonel, having served on the staffs of generals Maxwell Taylor and James Gavin. He saw heavy action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Holland and Germany. He was among the first Allied troops in the D-Day invasion at Normandy, having taken the controls of an incapacitated glider over Ste-Mere-Eglise. Later he helped counter German offensives at both the Ardennes Forest and Elbe River as a member of General Gavin’s staff. The 82nd then became instrumental in securing the post-war occupation of Berlin.
A lover of music, he sang as a youth in the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera while at Princeton. He later served as a board member of both the Met and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
A former long-time director of the United States Trust Company, New York, and the Banco di Romas, Chicago, he was a life trustee of Lake Forest Open Lands. He served on the board of several other civic organizations including Union Theological Seminary, New York, Outward Bound, Inc., and Lake Forest College.
Interested in both national and international economics, Hart served as a member of the Grace Commission, which determined how the U.S. might save hundreds of billions by eliminating government inefficiencies under the Reagan Administration.
An early authority on Latin America, he served on the Business Advisory Council’s Latin America committee from 1950-58. He was co-founder of the Inter-American Foundation, serving as its chairman from 1970-78. The IAF has been instrumental in the development of smaller, locally-owned and operated infrastructure businesses in Central and South America.
He served on the board of the British-North American Committee, was a member of both the Chicago (past chairman) and New York Councils on Foreign Relations, and was on the Ditchley Foundation’s advisory council.
An avid golfer, he was a co-founder of Conway Farms Golf Club, Lake Forest. He was a member of the Royal and Ancient of St. Andrews, Scotland, Old Elm, Onwentsia, Conway Farms and a 25-year member of the U.S. Seniors Golf Association. He was a member of the Chicago Club, The Commercial Club, the University Club and the Wayfarers Club, all of Chicago.
Mr. Hart had been a frequent visitor to his family’s ranch in the upper Clarks Fork Valley for the past 60 years.
He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Heather (Walter) Goldstein of Bozeman, Mont., and Kathryn (Robert) Lansing of Lake Forest; three sons, Augustin S. (Becky) Hart III of Oquawka, Ill., Douglas S. (Harriet Corbett) Hart of Clark, Wyo., and Robert D. Hart of Red Lodge, Mont.; nine grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his stepfather and a twin sister.
A memorial service was held Dec. 11 at the First Presbyterian Church, Lake Forest. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.
