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Ernest ‘Shorty’ Cecrle
DENTON — Ernest F. “Shorty” Cecrle, 85, of Denton, died Monday, April 2, 2001, at the Central Montana Skilled Nursing Center.
Funeral Liturgy will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 5, at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Denton. Cremation has taken place. Cloyd Funeral Home of Lewistown is in charge.
Arlo Sampsen
DAGMAR — Funeral services for Arlo Sampsen will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 5. Pastor Wes Aardahl will officiate at the service at Nathanael Lutheran Church in Dagmar; interment will be in Nathanael cemetery. Arlo, 80, died Thursday, March 29, 2001, of heart failure at Valley Lutheran Hospital in Mesa, Ariz.
Arlo was born to Danish pioneer parents, Chris and Minnie Andersen Sampsen, on Oct. 24, 1920, at home near Reserve. He was a child of the Danish community and a child of the Depression. He graduated from Antelope High School in 1938. His teenage years were interrupted with the death of his father, after which he took on the responsibilities of keeping the farm together. This would be a challenge for any 17-year-old, but especially so during the Great Depression.
Arlo was a faithful lifelong member of Nathanael Lutheran Church, where he was on the council. He served as a supervisor on the Sheridan County Soil Conservation District and as a director on the Nemont Telephone Board. He was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge and the Danish Brotherhood and belonged to Algeria temple of the Shrine.
Arlo started playing the trumpet in high school and played with a band, the “Swing Kings,” and continued to play music and support himself as a student at Northern Montana College. On March 27, 1942, he and his music partner, Helen Romstad of Antelope, were married
and made music together for 59 years. Arlo and Helen were known throughout the region as a musical team. They lived on their farm near Dagmar and for the last 20 years, Arlo and Helen made Mesa their winter home, residing in Venture Out.
There was nothing he enjoyed more than walking in the ripening wheat fields checking on how the grain was filling and looking forward to harvesting one more crop. He will be remembered as a steward of the land, a musician and a gentleman.
Arlo was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Lorraine Miller. He is survived by his wife Helen; his son Rick and his wife Mary of Dagmar; a daughter, Susan, of Sharpsburg, Ga.; and two grandchildren, Gretchen Sampsen of New York City and Cory Sampsen of Dagmar.
Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood has charge of arrangements.
Richard Lee Claar, Jr.
BOZEMAN — Richard Lee Claar, Jr. was born Feb. 21, 1978, in Miles City. Rich loved the outdoors, fishing and camping. He was loved dearly by his wife, Mandy Tucker; their two children, Molly and Jason; and by his parents, Dan and Riessa Short. He was also loved by his sister, Miranda Hostetler; and brothers, Dan Cockrum, Pat Doland and Brian Webb.
Rich’s life was a maze of mental illness and chemical dependency, from which he found little relief. Many caring people in the mental health field, the legal community and corrections, worked tirelessly to help Rich find solutions. Rich was unable to find a way out of the pain and confusion that plagued him, until March 31, 2001, when he chose to commit suicide while incarcerated in the Gallatin County Detention Center.
In addition to his parents, brothers, and sister, Rich is survived by nephews, Christian, Adyn, Brady and Kerby; nieces: Violet, Haley and Destiny; numerous aunts, uncles and grandparents in Montana, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Candlelight memorial services will be held Friday evening, April 6, at 6 p.m. in the Dokken-Nelson Sunset Chapel. A potluck reception will be held at the Lindley Center, 1102 E. Curtiss, immediately following the service.
Barbara D. Edens
LEWISTOWN — Barbara D. Edens, 71, died Saturday, March 31, 2001, at the Central Montana Medical Center, after a long illness.
Memorial graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 7, at Helena Sunset Memorial Gardens. Inurnment will be at Helena Sunset Memorial Gardens. Creel Funeral Home of Lewistown is in charge.
Frank H. Kendall
In the early hours of April 2, 2001, Frank H. Kendall passed on to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He had been fighting cancer since August of last year.
Frank was born July 16, 1931, in West Plains, Mo., to Albert and Margaret Kendall.
After attending many schools in his youth, Frank joined the Air Force in 1947, then re-enlisted in the Army in 1950 until 1952. After his discharge, Frank was employed by the Merced, Calif., Police Department until 1961. He then went to work for Farmers Insurance as a loss control specialist. He retired on disability after 18 years of employment.
In 1950 he married
Gail Abrahmson.
They had three children, Gloria, Frank Jr. “Rusty” and Julie.
In 1984, he married
Patricia Jones Herman with whom he spent the rest of his life.
Frank had many hobbies, especially automobiles.
In his youth he raced jalopies in Southern California.
There he sold Parnelli Jones his first race car.
He loved Volkswagens and spent many years building dune buggies, sand rails and Baja bugs.
In his retirement years, he spent most of his time restoring Volkswagens.
His pride and joy was his Volkswagen convertible.
He loved camping, traveling cross-country in their RV, visiting with family and friends.
He also enjoyed restoring old clocks.
Frank was a member of New Life Church and Senior Classics.
Frank is survived by his wife Pat of 17 years; three daughters, Gloria Udy (Jack) of Salt Lake City, Julie Hogan (Chris) of Long Beach Calif., and Amy Herman of Billings; two sons, Frank “Rusty” Kendall Jr. (Tracey) and Steve Herman (Brandi), all of Billings. There are 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister and one brother.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 5, at New Life Church at 3950 Temple Place. Viewing will be at from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at Smith Funeral Chapel West, 304 34th St. W. In lieu of flowers. donations may be made to ABBA’S Haven Youth Camp 3950 Temple Place, Billings MT 59101.
Dad, thank you for everything you provided for and taught us. We will miss you.
Lauraine Helen Frank
LAUREL — Lauraine Helen Frank, age 61, of Laurel, died Tuesday, April 3, 2001. Funeral Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, April 6, at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel. Interment will be at the Holy Cross cemetery in Billings. Visitation will be Thursday, April 5, from 1 to 9 p.m. at Smith Funeral Chapel in Laurel.
Lauraine was born April 14, 1939, in Mandan, N.D., to Marcus and Margaret Berger. She was the fifth child of 14 brothers and sisters. She attended school in Mandan.
On Dec. 30, 1957, she married
Leonard Frank. They moved to Missoula in 1965.
Their siding business expanded and took them to Billings in 1978.
Lauraine moved to Mandan when Leonard passed away in 1981.
She remained in North Dakota several years.
She longed to live in Montana to be closer to her three daughters and four grandchildren, who all reside in Montana.
Lauraine made the move to Laurel in 1994.
Lauraine loved to travel and shop for unique items. She also enjoyed flower gardening, bird watching and was very fond of horses.
She loved her grandchildren very much and enjoyed spending time with her family.
She was preceded in death by her husband Leonard; parents Marcus and Margaret Berger; brothers Henery, Lucus, Bernie and Frank; sisters Margie, Gladys, Donna and Judy.
Survivors include her daughters Mary Lou Huffman of Havre, Kim Ruby of Boyd and Sandra Thomas of Laurel; grandchildren Brooke Huffman, Kayla Frank, Stevie Lynn and Derick Ruby; brothers Raymond, Dennis, Jim, Monte; sisters Metzie and Sally; and good friend Jeff Hohbein of Laurel.
Memorials may be made to: Big Sky Hospice PO Box 35033, Billings, MT 59107.
Sister Mary Corine Pohle
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Sister Mary Corine Pohle, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth, formerly of Billings, died Tuesday, April 3, 2001, at Ross Hall, Mother House, Leavenworth.
Vigil will be at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6, in Ross Chapel of the Sisters of Charity Mother House in Leavenworth.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 7, in Ross Chapel.
Interment will follow in Mount Olivet cemetery on the Mother House grounds.
Belden-Sexton-Sumpter is in charge.
Robert T. Adams
Robert T. Adams, 55, of Billings, died Tuesday, April 3, 2001, at St. Vincent Hospital & Health Center.
Cremation will take place at Cremation or Funeral Gallery. At his request, no memorial will be held.
Hilda Edith Fore
Hilda Edith Fore, “Miss Blue Eyes,” died Wednesday morning, April 4, 2001, at Eagle Cliff Manor.
She had lived for 90 years.
Born Hilda Edith Brendt on Sept. 24, 1910, in Herreid, S.D., her mother died when she was 3 and her sister, Violet, was her friend for life.
As her family spoke German, Hilda could not speak English when she started school.
At the age of 12, she moved to Broadus with her aunt and uncle.
At the age of 20, Hilda married
Charles Henry Irion and to this union, two daughters were born in Miles City.
She later married
Clyde Asa Fore and the family lived in Bremerton, Wash., during WWII, later moving to Texas and then on to Billings.
Both Hilda and her sister, Violet, worked at Highlands and Hilda later worked at St. John’s Lutheran Home.
Together, they moved to Salem, Ore., when they retired, where she enjoyed family dinners and holiday gatherings.
She loved to cook, crochet and play cards with friends and family.
Violet preceded her in death in 1998. She is survived by her two daughters, Joan Irion Siemers of Billings and Joyce Irion Salter of Laurel; grandchildren, Randy, Larry and Danny Siemers, Robbie Alverson, Penny Ott and Chris Salter; and six great-grandchildren.
Hilda had a special place in her heart for niece Carol Caudill Ferron and nephews, Bobby and Sonny Caudill.
We will miss you.
Goodbye for now Miss Blue Eyes.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10, at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Memorials are suggested to Eagle Cliff Manor in Billings.
Smith Downtown Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Dr. Camilla Friendly
SIDNEY — Dr. Camilla Anderson Friendly, 96, of Sidney, died Saturday, March 10, 2001, at the Sidney Health Center Extended Care Facility.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Fulkerson Funeral Home Memorial Chapel in Sidney.
Russell Dale Gahagan
1927 — 2001
Russell Dale Gahagan, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away at the age of 74 on April 4, 2001, leaving behind those who loved him.
Those who knew Russ know that he was a man of his word who believed in hard work and dreaming big.
He enjoyed hunting fishing and riding and preferred to be outside. Russ had been a member of the Billings Saddle Club and was High Point Rider for five years running.
Russ married
Emma Knaub of Worden in June of 1947, later moving to Billings, where they spent 54 years together.
He always wore his hat tilted just so and was quick to share his wit. He loved animals and Montana, but most of all, he loved his family.
He was preceded in death by his mother, father and a brother. Russ is survived by his wife, Emma; two daughters, Sani and Paulette; five grandchildren, Darbi, Desi, Debbi, Lori and Jason; two great-grandchildren, Keaton and Kendal; sister Pauline and two brothers, Bern and Bill.
We all love you and will always be with you.
Russ requested that no services will be held.
Smith’s Downtown Chapel in charge.
