Search Archived Marriage Records
Lydia G. Hubbert
MILES CITY - Lydia G. Hubbert, 86, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999, at the Holy Rosary Health Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at the First United Methodist Church with interment in the family lot in the Custer County cemetery. Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home is in charge.
Robert 'Dennis' Rule
GERALDINE - Robert "Dennis" Rule, 64, formerly of Warren and Pryor, died Aug. 31, 1999, in an automobile accident in rural Geraldine.
Cremation has taken place and a gathering of family and friends will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Methodist church in Fromberg. Benton Funeral Home of Fort Benton is in charge.
Maryann Rowland
GILBERT, Ariz. - Maryann Rowland, 67, formerly of Bridger and Red Lodge, Mont., died Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999.
Memorial Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, at St. Anne's Catholic Church. Falconer Funeral Home is in charge.
Victoria Elizabeth Christensen
SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. - Victoria Elizabeth Christensen, 79, formerly of Thermopolis, Wyo., died Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999, at her home.
Graveside memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in Monument Hill cemetery in Thermopolis. Mortimore Funeral Home of Thermopolis is in charge.
Robert 'Bob' Joseph Tjepkes
THERMOPOLIS, Wyo. - Robert "Bob" Joseph Tjepkes, 63, of Thermopolis, died Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999, at his daughter's home in Gillette.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at Mortimore Funeral Home with interment in Monument Hill cemetery.
Iris L. Applegate
BASIN, Wyo. - Iris L. Applegate, 85, of Basin, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1999, at the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital in Thermopolis.
Visitation will be 12:30-1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in the Atwood Family Chapel. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in the chapel with interment in the Mount View cemetery.
Edna D. Christiansen
SHERIDAN, Wyo. - Edna D. Christiansen, 87, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1999, at Westview Health Care Center after a long illness.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at Ferries Funeral Home with interment of cremated remains in the Sheridan Municipal cemetery.
Fern Russell Ophus
GREAT FALLS - Fern Russell Ophus, 75, formerly of Hinsdale, died Saturday, Oct. 23, 1999, in a Great Falls hospital.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the United Methodist Church in Hinsdale. O'Connor Funeral Home is in charge.
Gary Dean Belcher
BRIDGER - Gary Dean Belcher, age 44, of Bridger, died Saturday, Oct. 23, 1999, of an apparent heart attack.
He was born June 11, 1955, in Billings, the son of Douglas and Eva (Black) Belcher. The family moved to Great Falls in 1962, where Gary attended school and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1973.
He moved to Bridger in 1973 and worked in pipeline construction. He worked for Empire Sand & Gravel for 11 years until his death.
Gary married
Collean Scarber on Dec. 31, 1997, at Bridger.
He loved fishing, hunting boating and basically enjoyed the outdoors. Gary had been very active with the Bridger Volunteer Fire Department for many years and was a member of the Operating Engineers Union No. 400.
Survivors include his wife, Collean of Bridger; a stepdaughter, Amber Platt of Great Falls; two stepsons who he helped raise, Deacon Scarber of Spokane, Wash., and James Scarber of Bridger; a brother, Tom Belcher, mother, Eva Belcher, and grandmother, Louise Black, all of Bridger. Gary was preceded in death by his father in 1992, and his grandparents, Andrew Black and Walter and Henrietta Belcher.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Bridger United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at the Bridger cemetery. Visitation will be 2-5 p.m. Wednesday at the Olcott Funeral Chapel in Red Lodge.
Memorials may be made to the Bridger Volunteer Fire Department or Golden Age Society in Bridger.
Verne F. Wallace
Verne F. Wallace passed Oct. 24, 1999, in Billings, at the age of 87. He was born March 31, 1912, in Red Lodge, the son of Fred and Minnie Wallace. He attended elementary schools in Carbon County, including Jackson, Red Lodge, Bearcreek, and graduated from Joliet High School in 1932.
Verne grew up in the Carbon County area and spent many happy times in the Beartooth Mountains hunting and fishing. Verne was united in marriage to Florence (Egli) Wallace in 1933. They lived in Joliet until 1935, when they moved to Englewood, Calif. They returned to Montana in 1947, where Verne started his own carpet laying business, and they resided in Billings since that date. Verne was a veteran of World War II. In his later years he enjoyed camping, fishing, gardening, and being a handy-man around his home. Verne and Florence enjoyed spending their winters in California. He dearly cherished the time he spent with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Verne is preceded in death by his parents, his wife of sixty years, Florence, who died Dec. 25, 1993; his son, James; four brothers and two sisters. Survivors include his daughter, Shirley Hurry, of Billings; grandchildren: Lorri Hurry of Billings, Mike (Amber) Hurry, of St. Helen's, Ore., Sherri Hurry of Billings, Patti (Randy) Searer, of Sidney; great-grandchildren: Kayleen, Jaycee, and Taylor Searer of Sidney; several nieces and nephews, and many beloved friends.
Cremation has taken place, and burial will be at Sunset Memorial gardens in Billings. Services will be held at Dahl Funeral Chapel in Billings.
Donald M. Ferguson
Donald M. Ferguson, 81, of Billings, formerly of Lewistown, died Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999, at St. Vincent Hospital after a valiant battle against cancer. Cremation has taken place and a private family memorial service has been held.
He was born Sept. 13, 1918, in Antelope, to George Henry and Blanche May Nuzum Ferguson. He moved to Billings at an early age with his parents, where he received his education at Billings Senior and Billings Business College. During WWII he served in the Navy as a gunner's mate aboard an LCI, serving in all theaters.
In 1946 he and Marjorie J. DeNayer were married
. Don worked for the State Employment Service in Billings and was promoted to Manager of the Lewistown office in 1958. Retiring after 32 years, they returned to Billings. Don was an excellent golfer, loved to fish, and loved his family.
Survivors include his wife, Marjorie; one son, John and wife, Starline of Lyons, Ind.; three daughters, Pam and John Baird of Lincoln City, Ore., Dallas and Frank Kucera of Billings, Schelle and Bryan Swan of Colstrip; 11 grandchildren, Shannon and Steve Holbrook, Brenden Baird, Justin and Danette Kucera, Collin Baird, Jerin and Capri Kucera, Jolie Kucera, Brittany Baird, Thad Swan, Kyan Baird, Aaron Swan, and Joel Kucera, and four great-grandchildren, Chase Holbrook, Nicole Kucera, Devyn Holbrook, and Brandon Kucera; and two sisters, Ethel Zimmerman of Seattle and Margaret and Walt Hartung of Billings. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, George and Stewart.
His family thinks he was the most wonderful, handsome, intelligent, modest, and terrific husband, Daddy, and grandfather in the whole, wide world.
Memorials may be made to the Shrine Children's Hospital Transportation Fund c/o P.O. Box 20673, Billings, MT 59104-0673.
Arrangements were made by Cremation or Funeral Gallery.
Gary Dean Belcher
BRIDGER - Gary Dean Belcher, age 44, of Bridger, died Saturday, Oct. 23, 1999, of an apparent heart attack.
He was born June 11, 1955, in Billings, the son of Douglas and Eva (Black) Belcher. The family moved to Great Falls in 1962, where Gary attended school and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1973.
He moved to Bridger in 1973 and worked in pipeline construction. He worked for Empire Sand & Gravel for 11 years until his death.
Dean married
Collean Scarber on Dec. 31, 1997, at Bridger.
He loved fishing, hunting boating and basically enjoyed the outdoors. Dean had been very active with the Bridger Volunteer Fire Department for many years and was a member of the Operating Engineers Union No. 400.
Survivors include his wife, Collean of Bridger; a stepdaughter, Amber Platt of Great Falls; two stepsons who he helped raise, Deacon Scarber of Spokane, Wash., and James Scarber of Bridger; a brother, Tom Belcher, mother, Eva Belcher, and grandmother, Louise Black, all of Bridger. Dean was preceded in death by his father in 1992, and his grandparents, Andrew Black and Walter and Henrietta Belcher.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Bridger United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at the Bridger cemetery. Visitation will be 2-5 p.m. Wednesday at the Olcott Funeral Chapel in Red Lodge.
Memorials may be made to the Bridger Volunteer Fire Department or Golden Age Society in Bridger.
Lila Mae Hines Rippy
Our mother was born June 30, 1910, and at the age of six months was adopted by William and Arvilla Hines of Salem, Ill.
They had already buried three babies and she was so thin that it was predicted that they would bury another, but the naysayers failed to take into account the determination of that tiny red-headed girl.
Raised to know right from wrong and the value of hard work, she and our Dad, Raymond Rippy, raised us the same way as we grew up during the Depression. We never knew we were poor because everyone else was in the same boat.
They had married
Oct. 24, 1928, and moved from southern Illinois to northwestern Illinois where the entire Rippy family took up farming. Theirs was a lifelong love and cooperation - interrupted by disagreements. Remember, she was a redhead and Dad knew which buttons to push. They had only her bed and a table and two chairs and a stove loaned from Dad's folks when they set up housekeeping.
Our Grandpa, Dad and his older brother had been coal miners in Odin, Ill. Farmers weren't getting rich in those days, either. And Dad hired out while his Dad and Mom and seven children stayed on the rented place. The move had been made in two cars and a railroad car which took five days to go 300 miles. Horses, cows and furniture and belongings all traveled together.
Mom learned how to be a farm wife the hard way, but learn she did. Long days and hard work were the norm. She worked in the fields alongside Dad, and we were right there, too, under a wagon in the shade in the summer.
They farmed in western Illinois until 1942 when we moved to Barrington, Ill., and in 1952 to the farm they both called home the rest of their lives near Huntley, Ill.
Mom became an aluminum and steel welder at an aircraft plant during World War II and went to work in an industrial sewing machine shop in the 1950s to buy the farm which they paid for in 14 years. The mortgage lender told them that in his experience no one ever paid off a farm loan but used it for collateral for another loan.
Dad had a Holstein dairy and was proud of the butterfat and volume records he attained through careful breeding.
Mom loved animals of all kinds and bought her first Persian cat in 1948. She studied and attended cat shows and over the next 45 years became a judge known for impartiality and fairness. Her cattery was known nationwide for Abyssinian cats of type and deep color as well as superior personalities. She always said that she never had to sell a kitten. They sold themselves when they fell out the cage door into the buyers' hands.
At one time in the '70s, she had nine Quadruple Grand Champion Abyssinian cats in her cattery. She judged shows in nearly every state, Canada, Hawaii and Japan and sold kittens to all of those places as well as Europe. Failing health in 1996 ended the cattery.
Mom was an only child but wholeheartedly took Dad's brothers and sisters as her own.
She was an avid collector of antique furniture and dishes, had an astounding memory and was a generous and loving friend and relative. She also had a love of the big cats and elephants and had been to South and East Africa five times.
She passed away Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999. Our Dad passed away in March of 1989. Their first child died in 1929.
She is survived by her children, Richard (Linda) Ripply of Algonquin, Ill., Thomas "Pat" (Sue) Rippy of Lansing, Mich., and Kathryn "Billie" Hicks of Joliet; 15 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren; a brother-in-law George; and four sisters-in-law, Doris, Agnes, Alice and Glenda.
Memorials may be made to a charity of your choice. She lived a good life, a full life and would want to be remembered with joy.
Funeral services will be at Dahl Funeral Chapel on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. Interment will be in the Union cemetery, Union, Ill.
Verne F. (Ace) Wallace
Verne F. Wallace passed Oct. 24, 1999, in Billings, at the age of 87. He was born March 31, 1912, in Red Lodge, the son of Fred and Minnie Wallace. He attended elementary schools in Carbon County, including Jackson, Red Lodge, Bearcreek, and graduated from Joliet High School in 1932.
Verne grew up in the Carbon County area and spent many happy times in the Beartooth Mountains hunting and fishing. Verne was united in marriage to Florence (Egli) Wallace in 1933. They lived in Joliet until 1935, when they moved to Englewood, Calif. They returned to Montana in 1947, where Verne started his own carpet laying business, and they have resided in Billings since that date. Verne was a veteran of World War II. In his later years he enjoyed camping, fishing, gardening, and being a handy-man around his home. Verne and Florence enjoyed spending their winters in California. He dearly cherished the time he spent with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Verne is preceded in death by his parents, his wife of sixty years, Florence, who died Dec. 25, 1993; his son, James; four brothers and two sisters. Survivors include his daughter, Shirley Hurry, of Billings; grandchildren: Lorri Hurry of Billings, Mike (Amber) Hurry, of St. Helen's, Ore., Sherri Hurry of Billings, Patti (Randy) Searer, of Sidney; great-grandchildren: Kayleen, Jaycee, and Taylor Searer of Sidney; several nieces and nephews, and many beloved friends.
Cremation has taken place, and burial will be at Sunset Memorial gardens in Billings. Services will be held at Dahl Funeral Chapel in Billings.
Eunice Larson
SIDNEY - Eunice Larson, 70, died Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999, at the Sidney Health Center Extended Care Facility.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Brorson cemetery. Friends will gather at the Fulkerson Funeral Home before services.
Carol A. Groll
LAUREL - Carol A. Groll, age 69, formerly of Laurel, died after an extended illness Sunday, Oct. 24, in Columbus at the Beartooth Manor. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Carol was born Jan. 6, 1930, in Dickinson, N.D., the oldest daughter of Lea and Anne Alverson. She attended St. Joseph's Catholic School until the family moved to Laurel in July of 1944. She graduated from Laurel High School in 1947. Carol married
William Groll of Laurel on Oct. 21, 1948. He preceded her in death on May 22, 1998.
Carol especially enjoyed her family's summer vacations to the Oregon coast where she felt at peace. She will be missed by her children.
Survivors include four daughters and one son: Susan (Rick) Blaskovich and Jeane (Scott) Rickard, both of Laurel; Laura (Al) Pelletier and William S. Groll of Columbus; and Patty (Doug) Garlock of Colorado Springs, Colo. Also surviving are five grandchildren: Beth of Missoula, Beckie of Laurel, Desirre and Joseph of Columbus, Melissa of Colorado Springs; and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sister, Peg (Bob) Freund of Laurel.
Cremation has taken place. Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m. Burial Service will follow at the Laurel cemetery. Smith Funeral Chapel in laurel is in charge of arrangements.
