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FLORENCE SANDERS
POLSON -- Florence "Trudy" Sanders, 70, died of natural causes on Feb. 8, 2003, at her home here. She was born on Aug. 15, 1932, in Aitkin, MN, to Phillip and Florence Bolduc. She grew up and attended schools in Aitkin, before moving to Kalispell in 1950. On Oct. 21, 1950, she married Billy J. Sanders in Kalispell. She and Billy also lived in Kemmerer and Cody, WY, before moving to the east shore of Flathead Lake. Trudy loved feeding hummingbirds and other wild birds. She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Oliver Bolduc, Phillip Bolduc and Tony Bolduc. She is survived by her husband in Polson; two daughters, Val Knight (Polson) and Lorna Scott (Kalispell); a son, Bill P. Sanders (Polson); one brother, Gene Bolduc (Grand Rapids, MN); eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and several other relatives. Cremation has taken place and no services are planned.
MARY JO ANNE SCHMAUCH
DIXON -- Mary Jo Anne Schmauch, born in Stella, Missouri, on Dec. 17, 1922, died at her home here on Feb. 23, 2003. She moved to Harrison, MT, with her family and later to Butte, where she met and married William Richard "Tiger" Schmauch. They both worked in casinos in Butte, West Yellowstone, Phoenix and Las Vegas until they moved to Dixon and bought the Dixon Bar in October of 1951. She pulled her last shift in the Dixon Bar on Feb. 20. She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents, Dick and Audra Parker; one sister, Jackie Jo Michael; and a nephew. Survivors include two sons, John Thomas Schmauch (Dixon) and Richard Schmauch (Sheridan, MT), and a daughter, Patricia Mitchell (Tustin, CA). As per her wishes, cremation has taken place.
BARBARA SHOURDS
FRENCHTOWN -- Barbara Lynn Shourds died on Feb. 17, 2003, at her home here. She was born Aug. 27, 1949, in Missoula to Chester E. Shourds Sr. and Theresa A. (Trahan) Shourds. A member of the Salish-Kootenai Tribes, she was a lifelong resident of Frenchtown. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Chester E. Shourds. She leaves behind brothers and sisters (and their spouses): Roger and Louise Shourds (Polson), Kerry and Jamie Shourds (La Conner, WA), Cathleen D. Espin (Palm Coast, FL), Colleen Collins (Frenchtown), Belinda Coffman (Avondale, AZ), Kelley Shourds (Glendale, AZ), Rebecca Podobnik (Cascade) and James Howard (Frenchtown); as well as many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, cousins and friends. Services were conducted in St. Ignatius.
LEIGHTON SMALL
ST. IGNATIUS -- Leighton Small, 78, died on Feb. 24, 2003, at St. Luke's Community Hospital in Ronan. Born on March 6, 1924, in Cut Bank, to Edgar W. and Cecillia (Gibson) Small, he was raised in Cut Bank until the family moved to St. Ignatius in 1960. Leighton was the second oldest child in his family and helped with the farming most of his life. Their farm was "the Small farm right next to the Biggs farm," as he used to say. He was proud of his English ancestry, singing his risque songs and was quite the poet in his time. He also enjoyed yodeling and riding his three-wheeled bike around town and to the Malt Shop to get his diet Pepsi at 1:15 p.m. every day. A single man all of his life, Leighton was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Alan, who died in infancy. He leaves behind his sister, Barbara Duncan (Mebane, NC); niece Mary Anne and nephew John Edgar (both of NC); a cousin, Harold Small (Kalispell); several cousins in Ellensburg, WA; as well as many friends. Funeral services were conducted on Feb. 28 in St. Ignatius, with interment following at the Pleasant View Cemetery in St. Ignatius.
CHARLES STARK
COEUR d'ALENE -- Charles Maxwell "Max" Stark died here on Feb. 7, 2003. Max was born Nov. 24, 1916, to Charles Milton and Fay (Miller) Stark near Stevensville. The family moved to Missoula in 1922 and to Hollywood, CA, when the Great Depression hit in 1929. Returning to Montana at age 17, Max graduated from Stevensville High School. While working in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, he met Charlotte McNary and they married on Oct. 1, 1940, in St. Paul, MN. They moved to Bozeman, where Max graduated from Montana State Univ. With agriculture and coaching as his specialties, he taught Montana high school students at Chester in 1942, at St. Ignatius from 1943 to 1949, and in Polson from 1949 to 1979. He also started the wrestling program at Polson High School and the Polson tennis courts are named for him. He helped bring seed potato farming to the Mission Valley in the early 1950s and raised cherries in the Flathead Valley. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. Despite having 10 children of their own, Max and Charlotte took in foster children. The Stark family also helped start the KOA campground on Flathead Lake's east shore in the mid-1960s. Following Charlotte's death in 1995, Max lived on Finley Point during the summer months and with his son, Rob, in Bozeman during the school year, when he attended classes at MSU. He moved to Coeur d'Alene last fall. Survivors include seven sons and two daughters: Mike Stark (Royal City, WA)., Barbara Klammer (White Bear Lake, MN), Tim Stark (Lakewood, WA), Mary Rosdahl (Coeur d'Alene), Andy Stark (Polson), Rob Stark (Bozeman), Jeff Stark (Oak Park Heights, MN), and Chris Stark and Paul Stark (both of Fairbanks, AK). Other survivors include his sister, Helen Allen (Sebastopol, CA); 29 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, brothers Heman and Ford, and daughter Patti Mercure. A community memorial service and celebration of Mass were held on Feb. 22 in Polson. His ashes will be scattered on St. Mary's Peak and inurned at Polson Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to the Max Stark Memorial Scholarship Fund, Polson School District, 111 Fourth Ave., Polson. MT 59860.
SEAN SYLVESTER
POLSON -- Sean Michael Sylvester died on Feb. 14, 2003, at his home here. Sean was born Dec. 24, 1979, in Concord, CA, to David Sylvester and Geraldine Ashley Trahan. He was raised in Pittsburgh, CA; and in Woodcock, Ronan and Polson. He received his education in Ronan before going to work for the Tribes as a tree planter and firefighter and at the Ronan Fitness Center. A member of the Conf. Salish and Kootenai Tribes, he was also proud of his Seneca background. He enjoyed basketball and baseball, and taking walks and biking with his family. He also enjoyed playing PlayStation and fishing. He was preceded in death by his mother in 2000. Survivors include his wife, Dolly Evans, and his children, Dashane Hewankorn, 6, and Tyrell Sylvester, 4 (all of the family home); his father, Dave Sylvester (Sacramento, CA); his sister, Reyna Sylvester (Ronan); brothers Wayne "Tai" Trahan (St. Ignatius) and Sunny Sylvester (Sacramento); foster brothers Aaron Matt and Michael Michel (both of Ronan); as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. Traditional wake services were held at the Longhouse in St. Ignatius. Mass was celebrated on Feb. 18 at the St. Ignatius Catholic Mission. Interment followed at the St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery.
DONN R. WALKER
MISSOULA -- Donn R. Walker of Polson died on Feb. 3, 2003, at St. Patrick Hospital here from natural causes. He was born Aug. 12, 1930, in Gage County, NE, to James Henry Walker and Gladys Ruth Brown. Donn (Mud) Walker was a big-hearted man of action who was a poet, played piano and the harmonica, and wrote music. He was a cowboy and a horse whisperer. Donn was an air traffic controller for the U.S. Air Force until 1955. He graduated from Doane College in NE and received his M.E. from the Univ. of Montana. He taught school for 34 years in Beatrice, NE; Missoula, and Alberta, Canada. He retired to Polson in 1995. He married Marcia Isaacson on Oct. 6, 1967, in Corvallis. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Duane Lee Walker. He is survived by his wife of 33 years in Polson; two daughters and their spouses, Kathleen Dawn and John Foss (Polson) and Kim Rose and Duane Jessop (Pinesdale); a sister, Barbara Jean Walker (Polson); 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; three nephews and one niece. A memorial service was conducted on Saturday in Polson. Inurnment took place in Neb. Memorials may be made to the Diabetes Association.
KEITH WRIGHT
POLSON -- Keith Wright died on Feb. 27, 2003. He was born in 1924, the second child of Edythe and George Wright, and grew up in Polson. In high school, he was active in football, track and drama. His sense of service was first demonstrated when he memorized the eye chart to pass the Air Force medical in World War II, where he served as an aircraft instrument and bombsight supervisor in Northern Ireland and Germany. He put himself through college with the GI Bill to earn a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1950 from Montana State College. Upon graduation, he moved to Missoula and soon started Wright Lumber Co. During retirement, he stayed involved in Polson, most recently with the Polson Sports Complex and as a member of SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives). He is survived by his wife, Gail Wright (Polson); two sons, Brad Wright (Kalispell) and Blaine Wright (Whitefish); a daughter, Beth Cole (Missoula); four grandchildren; two stepsons, Ralph Ashmore (Fall City, WA) and Dan Ashmore (Stevensville); a sister, Gina Devlin (Polson); a niece, two nephews and a cousin. Services were held at on March 3 at the Presbyterian Church in Polson. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Keith D. Wright Scholarship Fund, c/o Polson High School, 111 Fourth Ave. E., Polson, MT 59860.
ADELL BJORGE
HOT SPRINGS -- Adell Bjorge, 79, of Hot Springs died from a stroke at St. Joseph Hospital in Polson on March 19, 2003. She was born in Stockdale, TX, on Nov. 5, 1923, to Elbee and Melvina Hobbs. Adell is survived by her husband, Morris Bjorge (Garcon Gulch); two sons, Marvin, and his family (Polson) and Carl (Tacoma, WA); and numerous other relatives and friends. Funeral services were conducted on March 22 in Lonepine. Interment followed at Murray Memorial Cemetery in Lonepine.
