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WILLIE GRUDZINSKI
Willie Grudzinski, 46, of Bridger, Mont. passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, June 8, 2004, at his home with his wife, Susie, by his side.
Willie was born November 26, 1957 at Red Lodge, Mont. to William and Katherine Grudzinski. Willie grew up in Bridger and attended all twelve years of school there, making many friends. Willie worked locally over the years but spent the past eight years working for Kapor Lumber. He was very active in the community of Bridger and with the BVFD and ten years as an EMT. He loved to hunt and fish, but the important part of his life he saved for his family.
At the age of forty, Willie married his true love, “Susie” on December 13, 1998. With this union he also accepted Susie’s sons, Anthony and Jimmy as part of his life making his family complete. Willie and Susie made their home in Bridger and enjoyed remodeling their home together. He liked working on his boat and the two of them liked taking it out on the lake to relax and catch a few fish.
In April a special joy occurred in Willie’s life when he and Susie became God Parents to Willie’s great nephew Tyler Wight. Willie loved his step-son Anthony and had a special relationship with him.
Willie is survived by his wife Susie and her sons Anthony of the family home and Jimmy of Denver, Colo., his mother-in-law Jessie, one brother, Richard (Robin) of Laurel and five sisters: Sharon Grudzinski of Red Lodge, Karen (Duane) Shelhamer of Billings, Debbie (Marley) Grewell of Edgar, Lori Ficek of Billings and Kim Grudzinski of Butte, three grandchildren and several nieces and nephews along with many aunts and uncles.
Willie was preceded in death by his grandparents, parents and several uncles.
Willie, we love you and you will be missed by many. We shall lock memories of you in our hearts and you will never be forgotten.
Services were held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 12 at the Bridger High School Gymnasium. Interment was in the Bridger Cemetery.
Smith Funeral Chapel-Laurel was in charge of arrangements.
HELVI ROAT
RED LODGE – Graveside services for Helvi Roat, 88, of Red Lodge, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 3 in the Red Lodge Cemetery. Mrs. Roat died March 5, 2004 in Red Lodge. Cremation has taken place under the direction of Smith-Olcott Funeral Chapel.
Following the service, friends are invited to join the family for refreshments at the Red Lodge Senior Citizen’s Center.
EDNA R. GELSINGER
Edna R. Hanson Gelsinger, age 81, of Augusta, passed away at St. Peter’s Hospital on June 16, 2004.
Edna was born on June 6, 1923 in Bole, Mont. to Henry B. and Ellen M. (Dolali) Hanson. She was raised in Bole and Simms and there she met and married her sheepherder/rancher sweetheart, Charles L. Gelsinger. Charlie and Edna were very devoted to each other for 61 years and had lived their entire married life at the family ranch southwest of Augusta. Charlie preceded Edna in death last year.
Edna played an integral part of the Dolali reunions held every 3 years for more than 40 years, as well as organizing family gatherings every time an out-of-state relative came to Montana! Annual Camp Augusta had become a highlight of each summer. Edna was known for her warm hospitality, fine cooking and gorgeous garden, all of which she shared generously with others. Edna was a member of Eastern Star and Daughters of the Nile.
Edna is survived by daughters, Karen and husband Ron Ullom of Red Lodge, Linda and husband John Cameron of Helena; son-in-law Jay Tuomi of Great Falls; grandchildren/great-grandchildren Rhonda Ullom and son Travis; Brian Ullom (Becky) and children Lane, Lindsay, Amanda, Charlie; Kevin Ullom; Bobbi Jo Nycklemoe (Rolf) and daughters Greta, Ingrid, Lena; Bret Tuomi; Brad Tuomi (Tonya) and daughter Tyler, and son Bradley Jr.; Scott Johnson (Darcy) and daughters Anna and Alayna. Also surviving Edna are sisters Lila Parks, Ina Morris, Judith Morris (Fred), Evine Damschen, Florence Ackerman (Chuck), Ellen Hanson; brother Marvin Hanson (Peggy); sister-in-law Patricia Hanson; numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Preceding her in death were daughter Charlene Tuomi, brothers Sid, Herb, Ray, Carl and Don; sisters Ruth Lindseth, Eloise Bohnhoff; and great grandson Pierce Tuomi.
Both daughters would like to thank the staff of the St. Peter’s Cancer Center, Surgical Wing and Transitional Care Unit for befriending and caring for Mom.
A memorial service was held Wednesday, June 23, 2004 at Augusta Community Church, with lunch following at the Augusta Senior Citizens Center. The family suggests memorials to Augusta Volunteer Fire Department or Augusta Ambulance Service at Augusta, MT 59410, or Cancer Treatment Center of St. Peter’s Hospital, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601.
Services were entrusted to Retz Funeral Home in Helena.
JOHN W. TEINI
John W. Teini, age 78, of Sheridan, Wyo., died Friday, June 18, 2004, in his Sheridan home.
He was born February 15, 1926, in Red Lodge, Mont. to John Henry & Aina (Peltokoski) Teini.
He grew up and lived most of his life in the Red Lodge / Roberts area. He married Donna Sharp on December 16, 1950, in Sheridan. They lived on the Teini farm for forty-five years. John served on the school boards of the Fox School and the Red Lodge High School during the construction of the high school. He was a past-Exalted Ruler and life member of Elks Lodge #534 and the Kaleva Lodge. They moved to Sheridan in 1999.
Three sisters, Aina Rintala, Aurora Teini and Aarla Trout preceded John in death.
John is survived by his wife; four sons, John Dallas Teini & wife Cecelia of Roundup, Mont., Hugh Teini & wife Sheryl of Billings, Mont., Wayne Teini & wife Marlene of Sheridan, and Tom Teini & wife Gina of Red Lodge, Mont.; 8 grandchildren John, Joseph, Ryan, Sean, Chris, Teresa, Derek and Paul; several nieces, nephews & cousins; and many relatives that he met for the first time on his trip to his ancestral home of Finland.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Friday (June25) at Olcott Funeral Home, Red Lodge. Inurnment will be in the Red Lodge Cemetery. Local arrangements are with Champion Ferries Funeral Home.
Memorials may benefit the B.P.O. Elks Scholarship Fund, Red Lodge, MT 59068 or the Kaleva Scholarship Fund, in care of Martin Mikkola, 1215 5th Ave., Laurel, MT 59044.
RAYMOND W. PELO
Raymond W. Pelo, 81, died peacefully in his sleep Sunday night, June 13, 2004, following a long battle with illness.
Ray was born May 20, 1923, in Red Lodge, Montana, the second of William and Bertha Cunningham Pelo’s three sons. Ray and his brothers were raised and educated in the Red Lodge area where the family ranched, and where his father Bill worked in the Smith Mine until the 1942 mining disaster killed him and dozens of other men of the community, including several Pelo family relatives.
After the mining accident, Ray joined the World War II effort, serving with the U.S. Navy in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. After release from the Navy in 1946, he worked at various jobs on his way from Key West, Florida back to Montana. In 1946, he went to work in Billings for Mountain Bell, his employer for the next 31 years.
He married his high school sweetheart, Freida L. Hunter, on July 20, 1947. They had three children: Marilyn in 1948, Scott in 1952, and Russell in 1959. His increasing responsibility with Mountain Bell took the family from Billings to Great Falls in 1956, to Butte in 1958, back to Great Falls in 1960, then to Denver in 1967, and finally to Helena in 1971. His beloved Freida was killed in an automobile accident near Winston in March of 1972.
Left alone with one young son, Russell, to raise, they moved into one of the few houses up Lump Gulch near Clancy and devoted their energies to Ray’s lifelong dream, raising and training Arabian show horses. They successfully showed horses and won ribbons and trophies throughout the region.
In 1975 Ray married another Mountain Bell employee, Bernice Willing, mother of four grown children widow of his coworker, Fred Willing. In 1977, they took early retirement and Ray and Russ put their backs into another dream of Ray’s — building an Arabian horse breeding and training business at Hidden Hollow Ranch in the coastal mountains near Philomath, Ore.
Eventually Russ left to pursue his own life, and Ray and his wife traveled, putting down shallow roots in Corvallis and Tidewater, Ore., then Whitefish, and finally returning to Helena in late 1993 to live out their lives among their children, stepchildren, and grandchildren. Following Ray’s second stroke Labor Day weekend, 2002, he and his wife moved to the Waterford. In April 2003, he moved to Shelby House in East Helena. Just five weeks ago his health dictated that he move to Evergreen Clancy Health and Rehabilitation Center where he died after spending the afternoon with his daughter and her husband while waiting for the results of an All Star baseball game in which his grandson, Tyler, was playing in Idaho Falls. He was anticipating the day soon when the tournament tour would be in Helena where he could see Tyler play and the day of the Vigilante Parade when he could see this granddaughter, Cassie, dance. Their next performances will be dedicated to their Grandpa.
Ray is survived by his brothers: Marvin of Red Lodge; and Dale and his family, “The Utah Pelos,” wife, Renae, and family of 10 children and dozens of grandchildren; his biological children: daughter Marilyn and son-in-law James Perdue; his son Russell, daughter-in-law, Kimberly, and their children Tyler and Cassie (all of Helena); his son Scott and daughter-in-law Winona (Burlington, WA) and their daughters and families, Jessica and Jeff Barlow and great granddaughter Hunter; and Stacia and Mike Sheelar and great granddaughter, Kayla (all of Forest Grove, Ore.)
He is also survived by his second wife, Bernice Willing, who resides at the Waterford in Helena, and his stepchildren Laura Willing Schroeder (West Yellowstone), Jean Willing Mehrens, and William Willing of Marysville, their spouses, and children, all of Helena.
Ray requested that no public funeral be held. At the request of his wife, the Willing and Pelo families will each hold private memorial services. His children request donations in Ray’s memory may be contributed the American Lung Association or the St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation.
CYNTHIA GAMBLE TEARSE
RED LODGE – Cynthia Gamble Tearse, 76, of Red Lodge, passed away Saturday, June 26, 2004 at her home.
A thirty-year resident of Red Lodge, she was born on March 9, 1928 in St. Paul, Minnesota. She attended Northrop Collegiate School in Minneapolis and Pine Manor Junior College in Boston, Massachusetts.
On June 6, 1950 she married Harold H. Tearse, Jr. Throughout her active life she was involved in many charitable organizations including the Minneapolis Symphony Ball, St. Barnabas Hospital, the Carbon County Historical Society, the Carbon County Arts Guild, and numerous civic activities in Red Lodge.
Survivors include her two children and their families, son Harold H. Tearse III and his wife Lynn P. Tearse, and their children Nicole E. and David R. Tearse, all of Wayzata, Minn.; and daughter Dr. Robin T. Kellogg and her husband Robert P. Kellogg, and their daughters Jaime C. and Cynthia L. Kellogg, and son Robert J. Kellogg, all of Encinitas, Calif.; two brothers, Donald P. Gamble, Jr. of Monterey, Calif., and Douglas Gamble of Seattle Wash.; and her former husband, Harold H. Tearse, Jr. of Wayzata, Minn.
Cynthia was preceded in death by one brother, David Gamble, and her longtime companion, Jack Yelich of Red Lodge.
A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 1 at Canyon Wedding Chapel south of Red Lodge, and at the Bull ‘n’ Bear at 4 p.m.
Smith-Olcott Funeral Chapel of Red Lodge was in charge of cremation.
Memorials are preferred to the Carbon County Historical Society, Box 881, or to the Carbon County Arts Guild, Box 585; both in Red Lodge, MT 59068.
RANDALL FREDRIC (RANDY) ANDERSON
Randy was born in Glendive, Mont. on Sept. 11, 1968 to Fred and Dee (Silvis) Anderson. He died enjoying his favorite sport of kayaking on June 26, 2004.
Randy attended schools in Glendive, graduating in 1986. He excelled in sports and was named Outstanding Senior Athlete. Randy spent summers and all holidays with his family at their Stillwater cabin near Nye. It was there his love of kayaking began. He earned his engineering degree at the University of Idaho-Moscow, where he also participated in ROTC. He was accorded the honor of being the student commander of the Ranger Battalion. Randy was selected to train as a helicopter pilot when on active duty. Randy spent eight years in the Army, six as a med-evac pilot.
After leaving the service, Randy was employed as a project engineer for Frito Lay. In 2000, he fulfilled his dream of returning to Montana when he was named field operations manager for KOA, Inc. at Billings.
On Jan. 11, 2004 he married the love of his life and soulmate, Cindy Fuhrman in Billings. Together they loved to hike, hunt, camp, work together on projects and just be with each other. Their family circle included four dogs, two horses and a cat at the home they built in Boyd.
Randy loved life and lived it to the fullest. He was president of the Beartooth Paddlers Society and loved the thrill of being on the water with his friends. Every person he met was a friend, and he would do anything for his friends. He was respected and loved.
Randy is survived by his wife, Cindy, his beloved parents, Fred and Dee (Absarokee), and his sisters, LeAnne (Mark) Brandt and their children, Andy and Katie of Glasgow, and Julie Anderson and her husband, Woody Jones, of Seattle. He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
Services were held Wednesday, June 30, 2004 at the First Presbyterian Church in Billing, with the Rev. Paul Lindley of Nye officiating.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Randall F. Anderson Scholarship Fund in care of Wells Fargo Bank in Billings.
Smith West Chapel of Billings assisted with arrangements.
