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Clarence 'Clint' Estey
Clint Estey, 66, of Helena left this world to join our Lord, April 2, 2004, after a long, courageous battle with cancer. His quiet, loving presence will be greatly missed.
He was born July 26, 1931, in Fiddletown, Calif., to William and Ruth Estey. As a young boy he lived with his family on a ranch near Placerville. He completed school in Plymouth, Calif.
He joined the Air Force in 1955 and was encouraged to become a member of the band, helping to ease the sorrow and fear of others by sharing his joy of music and generous nature. Upon discharge he continued his education and took immense pleasure by encouraging others to reach for their own goals both at work and in his private life.
He married
Carmen Maisonet, and they had three beautiful children. Precious as his family was, his spirit yearned for something more, he and Carmen remained dear to each other and with her support he began his search where he came to and fell in love with Montana and promptly made his home in the mountains near Helena.
Through the years Clint not only established various businesses, each one worthy of giving people joy and a moment of happiness, he also supported his friends in their own endeavors. His pride, quiet determination and affection touched many with results that will be seen for years to come.
Later he remarried
to Anginette Bromlie and had Chinook Estey and deeply loved Anginettes other children, Rainelle and Jon. The close friendship endured change, the pain and happiness that comes with life and magic of smiles easily shared with others.
He enjoyed cooking, music, and flowers in the spring, photography and lazy days in the mountains, traveling, passionate debates, desert sunsets, and long evening rides on his Harley and a fast cruise in his El Camino. A beloved and dear one, he took great and caring pleasure in his family, friends and the close relationships he recently found with the members of his church, but his one true joy was his children.
He is survived by his children, Will (Deborah) Estey, Rich (Julie) Estey, Leesa (Robert) Hitson and Chinook Estey; a sister, Violet Waters; a brother, Delbert (Judy) Estey; grandchildren, Charles, Linelle, Ross, Patricia, Tiffany and Monica; great-grandchildren include Ricky, Andrew and a baby girl due next month.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, April 12, at East Valley Foursquare Church with Pastor Jeff Richards officiating. Interment will be at the Montana State Veterans cemetery, Fort Harrison, with military honors provided by the Lewis and Clark Veterans Council.
The family suggests memorials to St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905, or the Montana State Veterans cemetery, P.O. Box 5712, Helena, MT 59604. Hagler-Anderson Funeral Home was entrusted with local arrangements.
Kathy Rose Joseph
Kathy Rose Joseph, 53, of Helena, passed peacefully into the spiritual universe Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004, at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, after a valiant battle with lung cancer.
She was born July 28, 1950, in Kalamazoo, Mich., to Alren Dean and Rosemary Rose. She spent her early years in Michigan, and moved with her family to Montana in 1965. She married
Ron Wachsmuth in 1967, and had two sons. They later divorced.
She married
Gary Joseph in 1976, and they raised their blended family in Hamilton and later Missoula. Gary died in 1995. In 1997 she moved to Helena and joined John Northey on his llama ranch northwest of Helena. She was preceded in death by both parents, her husband Gary, her niece Kendra Rose, and her beloved mother-in-law Ann Joseph and sister-in-law Jay Joseph.
She is survived by her longtime partner and best friend John Northey; her loving children: sons Garett Joseph of the family home in Helena; Mark Wachsmuth (Angela) and children Alivia and Michael of Belgrade; and Matt Wachsmuth of Missoula; Peter Joseph (Nicole) and daughter Teagan of Missoula; daughters Gina Wilson (Jessie) and children Beau Nordberg of Polson, Taylor, Mikhala, and Colton of Hamilton; and Jodi Bice (Trent) and children Bailey and Cade of Moscow, Ill. Other survivors include sister Debbie Peterson (Bruce) of Colville, Wash., their daughter Julie Forthun (Scott) and children Taylor and Hunter of Colville; Sandra Rose of Phoenix.; Alren Dean Rose Jr.(Pat) of Wauseon, Ohio, their children, Alren Dean Rose III (Michelle) and daughter Natalee of West Unity, Ohio, and Monica Kay (Kevin) and son Tyler of Wauseon, Ohio; Thomas Rose (Robin) of Mathews, Va., their children Brett Rose of The Bahamas, Shawn Rose of Orlando, Fla., Katie Curko (Denis) and daughters Alyssa and Kandace of Mathews, Va., and Thomas Rose Jr. of Mathews; Russell Dohr (Sherry) and children Brittney, Courtney, and Josh of Kalispell; Michael Dohr of Gainsville, Fla.; and sister-in-law Monie Joseph of Missoula.
While living in West Yellowstone in the early 1970s she became one of the first licensed EMTs in the state of Montana. She was a longtime active member of the Eagles and participated in Eagles activities throughout the state, Northwest and Canada. Kathy was primarily a homemaker and later while living in Missoula she worked at the Missoulian. After moving to Helena she attended Carroll College and enjoyed raising llamas.
Kathy had many interests including softball, bowling, horseback riding, literature, crafts and sewing. She loved the outdoors and animals, and especially enjoyed spending time with John at their cabin on the continental divide at Flesher Pass.
A memorial Mass will be held at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, at Pope John XXIII Catholic Church, 1475 Baton in Missoula, with a reception following the service. Cremation has taken place and Kathy's ashes will be scattered by her family at a later date as she requested.
Kathy wished memorials to Watson's Children Home in Missoula, the American Cancer Society, Hospice or a charity of the donor's choice. Local arrangements were entrusted to Hagler-Anderson Funeral Home, Helena.
Maurice D. Orham
Maurice D. Orham, better known to most as "Swede, " passed away early Friday morning, April 23, 2003, at St. Peters Hospital.
Swede was born Nov. 6, 1930, in Great Falls. He grew up in the Raynesford-Great Falls area.
He attended Great Falls High graduating in 1948.
Swede served his country in the United States Air Force and the Montana Air National Guard from Nov. 17, 1948 to Sept. 4, 1952.
He graduated from Montana State College with a degree in Civil Engineering.
While attending college he was a member of the Gamma-Kappa chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
While working on a friends ranch outside of Fort Benton, he met and married
his dear wife, Marlene Crane, in 1959.
Swede spent the rest of his working career with Mountain Bell/US West. Joining the company in 1960 until his retirement in 1990.
Among his many and varied activities, Swede was a member of the East Helena Valley Rodeo Association from the early 1980s on. He also caught the team roping bug in 1990 and remained active at both over the years. One of his favorite sayings was "I am so busy, I dont have time to be retired." Those who knew Swede know he would not have had it any other way.
Swede is survived by his wife, Marlene; children, Sue Orham from Keizer, Ore.; Andy Orham from East Helena, and Heidi Ries and husband, Tom, their children, Jessica, Shawn, Michelle from Helena; brother Harlan and wife, Patricia Orham, from Great Falls, sister, Francis and husband, Larry Mower, from Tulsa, Okla.; as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Pete and Georgia Rockey Orham and brothers, Robert and Edward Orham.
In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial donations to the East Helena Valley Rodeo Association or the American Heart Association.
The viewing and Rosary will be at the Hagler-Anderson Chapel Monday April 26, 2004, between 6:30 and 7:30pm.
Graveside services will be conducted at Montana State Veterans cemetery at Fort Harrison on Tuesday April 27, at 11 a.m. with a reception following at the VFW in East Helena. All of Swedes many friends are welcome.
Thanks be to God for the rich blessings Maurice received in the 11th hour of his life.
Rest in peace Swede, you were and are loved and will be missed.
Berty J. Dean
Berty J. Dean, age 102, of Eugene, Ore., passed away March 23, 2004.
She was born Oct. 18, 1901, in Gerber, Okla., to George W. and Maggie (Swearengin) Hoover. The family moved to McPherson, Kan., where she met and married
Dr. Chas D. Dean in 1922. They remained together until he passed away in 1977.
Survivors include her son, Dudley Dean of Helena; five grandchildren, David (De) Dean of Lake Tahoe, Calif., Laurie (John Bodine) Dean of Agua Dulce, Calif., and Daniel (Twila) Dean, Michael (Jayne) Leach, and Debbie (Nels) Strandberg, all of Helena; 10 great-grandchildren, D.J and Samantha Dean, Johnathan Fagan, Meghan Olson, and J.C. Bodine, Dexter and Margaret Dean, Janina and Falicia Leach and Denise Gibson.
Berty and Chas moved to Billings in 1927, where Chas was a professor at the University of Montana and later was assistant superintendent of schools in Billings. In 1954, they moved to Eugene, where Chas was director of continuing education for the University of Oregon.
No matter where they lived, Bertys love of decorating and gardening turned their home into a place of beauty. She also painted many lovely pictures, especially featuring birds of various kinds. She was often called upon for decorations for faculty and civic functions.
Although she was gone for many years she always considered Billlings her home.
She will be sorely missed by her friends and family.
Funeral service will be held at Smiths Downtown Chapel, Billings, on Monday, March 29, at 10 a.m. with interment to follow beside her husband at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Donald Charles Ingels
A founding member of both Helenas Grandstreet Theatre and the Ghost Art Gallery, Donald Charles Ingels, age 71, died March 18, 2004, at Holy Rosary Hospice in Miles City of multiple myeloma.
Ingels had been the publications editor for the Montana Chamber of Commerce and director of the Miles City Chamber of Commerce.
He was born Sept. 8, 1932, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the fourth of five children born to Elmer Ray and Bertha (Wiley) Ingels.
He graduated from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids in 1950, and married
the former Bonita Given Oct. 30, 1953, in Mankato, Minn.
In 1952, Ingels placed third in his weight class at the national semifinal tryouts for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. In 1953, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served stateside during the Korean War at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. After an honorable discharge he served another eight years in the Army Reserves.
After the Army he resumed his college studies, graduating in 1960 with a degree in political science from Mankato State College. He was listed in Whos Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was an English teacher, wrestling coach and librarian in Wood Lake and Clarkfield, Minn.
In the 1950s the Readers Digest published his article on Alger Hiss. In 1963, Baldwin Press published his book, "Holiday For Hate, " about his adventures as a conservative American at the 1962 Communist World Youth Festival in Finland.
In 1967 he moved to Helena to be director of information for Montana Chamber of Commerce. Over the next decade he would also serve as editor for the American Legion and Montana Stockgrowers Association magazines.
In the late 1970s, he and his wife, Bonita, started the Ghost Art Gallery on the Helena Walking Mall. They originated the Fall Art Walk, which in the next 25 years became a major autumn event, encompassing dozens of stores and galleries from one end of downtown Helena to the other.
Ingels wrote and produced the play, "Shamrock, " which premiered at The Grandstreet Theatre during the entire month of December 1982.
He was a part of the Helena resurgence of barbershop quartet music and in 1988 helped produce "50 Years of Harmony" at the Helena Middle School.
In 1992 he became the director of the Miles City Chamber of Commerce, where he started the yearly Bull Sale on Main Street.
He also taught English at Miles City Community College. He continued his education, becoming an ordained minister through the Progressive Universal Life Church (1995) and hypnotherapist through the American Institute of Hypnotherapy (1998).
He married
the former Karen Raw on May 6, 1999.
He was predeceased by his parents and his brothers, Ralph and Ray. He is survived by his wife, Karen, of Miles City; his five children, including sons Bruce (Heidi) Ingels of Helena, Paul (Merry Lynn) Ingels of Anchorage, Alaska, and Daren Ingels of Brookings, Ore.; and daughters, Gretchen (Neil) Swift of Great Falls and Annette (Brett) Connelly of Montrose, Colo.; 13 grandchildren; siblings, Bruce of Little Rock, Ark., and Richard of Cedar Rapids; and sister Norma of Cedar Rapids; and stepsons Shawn and Marc McGuire of Miles City.
Cremation has taken place.
A private family service to celebrate his life was held March 20 in Miles City. Memorial contributions can be made to the Holy Rosary Hospice.
Harold G. Stearns
Veteran newsman and historian Hal Stearns traveled over the Montana Divide for the last time in the company of family on April 22 at the age of 91 - his lifes script a rich reflection of the state he loved and understood.
Harold G. Stearns was born Sept. 16, 1912 in Anaconda, the son of Swedish immigrants Gustave and Augusta Stearns. After mining, his father took up farming on Race Track Creek in the Deer Lodge Valley. Hal knew the sights, sounds and smells of Anaconda at the height of its ethnic mining era, where he found work while attending Anaconda High School. Excelling in sports and academics, he received a track scholarship to attend the University of Montana where he was a distance runner. Other successful pursuits at the university included degrees in English and journalism, a fraternity bond with Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and meeting the love of his life, Jean Kountz of Whitehall, an English and home economics major, whom he married
in 1938.
They moved to Havre where Hal began his journalism career as city editor of the Havre Daily News from 1936-1940, then moved to Harlowton where they published the Harlowton Times and Eastern Montana Clarion weekly newspapers from 1940 to 1973, and finally moved to Helena. World War II called Hal away where he served as a naval officer, while Jean stepped to the plate and ran both newspapers and raised their family during his tour of duty. Jean predeceased Hal in 1990, shortly after her return from New York City as Montanas representative as Mother of the Year. They were a team at the newspaper and in life.
As a journalist and a publisher, Stearns exercised his First Amendment rights with uncensored precision at a time in Montana history when most daily newspapers were owned by "The Company" and talk of mining accidents, political bribery and politics were censored. Stearns called a spade a spade. With a passion and intellect for history, Hals writings helped unearth much of Montanas uncovered political past. While in Havre, Stearns beat included the construction of the Fort Peck Dam and other dams along the Hi-Line, in addition to local news and sports. There he gained an appreciation and understanding of Montanas Indian Reservations and their communities (a lifelong interest) and accurately reported on them. Stearns supplemented his 25 a week newspaper income by taking up refereeing where, for 5 a game, he sometimes narrowly escaped physical abuse by partisans. A voracious reader, he acquired a comprehensive library of Montana history. His Harlowton newspaper column, "The Uneasy Editors Chair, " was renowned.
Hal would leave listeners spellbound by his extemporaneous wit and depth of knowledge, especially on anything having to do with Montana history or the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He directed the Montana Bicentennial from 1973-1976, served as a trustee of the Montana Historical Society for 25 years, and authored many articles on Montana history.
A public servant and champion for higher education, he was chairman of the Friends of the Montana University System Committee; president of the University of Montana Alumni Association; President of the Montana State University Advisory Council; served on the Montana Higher Education Commission; and directed the successful campaigns for the Six Mill Levy for Higher Education in 1978 and 1988. Hal received honorary degrees from both the University of Montana and Montana State University, and both Hal and Jean were recipients of the University of Montana Distinguished Alumni Award. In his senior years, Hal taught Montana history at Carroll College. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Carroll College Community Service Award and Kiwanis Distinguished Community Service Award (a lifelong member), and served on numerous boards including: the Helena Library Board, Lewis and Clark Preservation Board, Montana Committee for the Humanities, Helena Civic Center and Grandstreet Theatre. He served as President of the Montana Press Association and received its Master Editorial Publisher Award.
Hal and Jean parented eight children: HalJo and wife Sheila of Helena; Jim of Helena; Nancy and husband Jim OKief of Eugene; Michelle and husband Pat Smith of Arlee; Tom and wife Noriko of Butte; Jeanie and husband Dave Schmidt of Helena; and Tim and wife Linda of Seattle; along with 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A son, Billy Desmet, predeceased his parents in 1954. Other survivors include sister-in-law Bernadette Connor of Whitehall; brother-in-law John Morris of Butte; sister-in-law Marilyn Koontz of California; special foster daughter Marcia Zankowski of Ennis; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Hal's remarkable life was chock full of family, kids, sports, dogs, newspapers, books, the arts, movies, plays, church, the Griz, and driving around the state he cherished (Jean behind the wheel). People and his surroundings fascinated him. Thanks to the heroic efforts of daughter Jeanie and son Jim, he was able to live in the family home with his books, art and beloved spaniels until he was reunited with Jean and Billy at 4:20 a.m. on April 22.
A celebration of his life will be held Monday, April 26, at 10 a.m., at St. Mary Catholic Community Church in Helena, with a rosary and wake Sunday evening at 7 p.m. at the church. Viewing will be on Friday and Saturday at Hagler-Anderson Mortuary. Memorials can be made to St. Mary Catholic Community.
Bernadine Burt Lee
Bernadine Burt Lee, loving mother and grandmother, age 75 died surrounded by her family at her daughters home Saturday evening, May 29, 2004, after a long courageous battle with lung cancer.
Bernadine was born to Keith Burt and Hazel Buchanan Malben in Hall, Montana on Nov. 15, 1928.
She graduated from Helena High School in 1947 and enjoyed the "Class of 47" monthly luncheons.
Nov. 18, 1950, Bernie married
Darryl A. Lee in Seattle. They moved back to Helena to raise their family. Darryl preceded her in death on June 10, 1990.
Survivors include her daughters, Karen Lee Bryson (Jeff) of Helena, Barbara Lee Davies (Chuck) of Butte; son Mark G. Lee (Janice) of Spokane, Wash.; brother Victor D. Burt (Peggy) of Butte; sister Michal E. Malben of Helena; special sister-in-law Jeanne Gillie (Ron) of Lewiston, Idaho; six grandchildren; Michael, Eric (fiancée Carrie Kristof), and Brad Bryson, Jennifer, Stephanie, and Cody Lee, and several nieces and nephews.
Bernie was a member of St. Johns Lutheran Church. She was active in the Republican Womens Association and St. Peters Hospital Association. Bernie worked for the Montana Education Association until she and Darryl moved to Minnesota in 1969. They lived in Rochester and Roseville, Minn., Butte and Lewiston, Idaho, returning to Helena in 1989.
Visitation will begin 11 a.m. on Tuesday June 1, at Retz Funeral Home. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 2, at St. Johns Lutheran Church 1000 Helena Ave. with Pastor Doug Vold presiding.
Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens cemetery. Memorials in Bernies name are suggested to: Bells of St. Johns c/o St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Ave., Helena, MT 59601 or to Hospice of St. Peters, 2475 Broadway Street Helena, MT 59601.
