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Ruth Malone Smelser
Ruth (Malone) Smelser, 94, of Granbury, TX, formerly of Miles City, passed away May 23, 2012.
No further info was available.
Norman Russell Parrent
Norman Russell Parrent, 81, of Miles City died Sunday, May 27, 2012, at the Holy Rosary Extended Care Facility.
Mr. Parrent was born March 15, 1931, at Livingston to Louis and Ada Barto Russell Parrent. He lived in the Wilsall area, and then finished his schooling at Miles City.
He worked at many different jobs over the years, from driving taxi, to bill collecting and repossessing, to farmhand and ranch hand, and mechanic, which led up to the last half of his life.
In the late 1960s, Mr. Parrent moved to Hardin and went to work for Graham-Staunton Chevrolet as a mechanic. As a part of that he drove the tow truck on call 24/7. Then it seemed natural progression to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and drive the ambulance, then to running the ambulance service and also teaching Red Cross and EMT classes, then adding county coordinator for Disaster and Emergency Services.
In 1981, he moved to Miles City and the position of District Supervisor for the DES. At one point in time, he was in charge of 16 eastern Montana counties. He continued this position until 2010, when he was forced to retire for health reasons. He liked to be involved in implementing better emergency handling.
He was very proud in 2003 to travel to Washington, D.C., and be awarded the Mark Trail National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio Award for his work in helping to implement a better weather warning system in eastern Montana. The press release stated “Parrent is the only recipient of the award from Montana, one of 19 nationwide.”
He and Emma Jean “Rustee” Winkley were married
in Miles City on July 27, 1953. Their only son, Leon Russell, was born Feb. 26, 1958, in Bozeman. Mr. Parrent admitted that he never would have gotten to where he did without his wife standing behind him and supporting him all the way. This, even though she spent about the last 20 years of her life progressively paralyzing from an inoperable tumor.
His survivors include his son, “My Monster” Leon; one sister, Jewell Hetland; a granddaughter, Rose; a grandson, Samuel; numerous in-laws; and many, many nieces and nephews into the great-greats.
Mr. Parrent was preceded in death by his wife, Rustee, in 1992; his parents; two sisters; one brother; and several in-laws and nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Monday, June 4, 2012, at Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City with a prayer service at 6 p.m. Visitation will be Saturday, June 9, 2012, at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home in Livingston from 10 a.m. to noon with burial to follow at 1 p.m. at the Wilsall cemetery at Wilsall.
Nancy Louise Norsby
Nancy Louise Norsby died following complications from a stroke at the Billings Clinic Hospital in Billings Montana on Friday, May 25.
Mrs. Norsby was born Nov. 8, 1946, at Langdon, N.D., to Frank and Lucille Beauchamp Machart of Loma, N.D. As her father was a station master she had the fun of growing up with her brothers in railroad depots at Loma, and Egeland, N.D. In the fall of 1957 she moved with her family to Detroit Lakes, Minn. There she loved to spend the summers and winters teaching her younger brothers how to hunt and fish.
In 1967, following a year of college at Moorhead State College, Moorhead, Minn., she began working for MAHUBE Community Council, a social services program, which was part of the federal anti poverty program established under President Lyndon Johnson. She did outreach work to aid women and children at risk; she did well check follow ups for families in need, and provided transportation for members of the White Earth Indian Reservation to and from medical appointments. It was during this time that she met, and later became engaged to, her older brother’s college roommate, Bill Norsby of Valier.
They were married
Aug. 1, 1970, at Moorhead, Minn. The first year they lived at Glyndon, Minn., where her husband, Bill, taught high school social studies and shop.
The next year they moved back to Detroit Lakes, Minn., and later to Stanton, N.D., before moving to Great Falls in 1978 where Mr. Norsby worked for the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1973, their son, Douglas Jay, was born and in 1977 their daughter, Elizabeth LuAnn, was born. At Great Falls, Mrs. Norsby worked nights as a house mother and interpreter at the School for the Deaf and Blind.
In 1980, Mr. Norsby transferred to their final home in Miles City. Mrs. Norsby worked as a daycare provider from her home for the first few years, before getting a job as the 4-H program coordinator through the Montana State University Extension Service. Mrs. Norsby loved her work, and was proud of how quickly the program expanded. The number of clubs increased. The increase in participants necessitated expanding the number of Demonstration Days and the attendance at 4-H Camp Needmore exploded to the point that there were not enough beds in the cabins. Tents were brought in to handle the overflow.
In time the 4-H position changed. Mrs. Norsby moved on to other jobs before receiving an offer to work as a substitute teacher in the rural Custer County one-room school houses. She loved the students and enjoyed the challenge of coordinating multiple grades at once. She moved from substitute teaching to a position as an aide in the Custer County District High School. Here she served as an interpreter and translator for a deaf student. She worked as a mobility aide for another young man. She became a classroom teachers aide in the special education room where she helped many students with learning disabilities and difficulties to graduate. She was sensitive to all children and their situations, and only wanted them to have the chance to succeed. For her, every graduation was a victory.
After retiring Mrs. Norsby started “SageWorks” her own furniture restoration and refinishing business. She had always enjoyed working with wood and was proud of being a business owner.
All through her life, she could never keep still. She kept busy with many hobbies. Mrs. Norsby enjoyed helping her friend, Cecila Stanley, with her sheep. She loved going out to Saugus to visit her friend, Mary Haughian. She enjoyed the outdoors. She enjoyed working with stained glass, taking classes at Miles City Community College, doing wood work projects, throwing pots on the potting wheel, beading hatbands on a loom, hiking the pine hills, looking for agates along the Yellowstone River, and taking her children fishing back in Minnesota. She loved and found inspiration in Native American legends, lore and spirituality.
Her survivors include her son, Doug Norsby (wife Sheila) of Gardner, Kan.; daughter, Liz Filler (husband Nick) of Missoula; her two adored grandsons, Zachary Norsby and Victor John Filler; her brothers, Victor Machart, Michael (Karen) Machart, Thomas Machart and Allen (Christol) Machart; her sister, Jill Machart Newtran; and her many cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.
Mrs. Norsby was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; and her parents, Frank and Lucille Machart.
Services will be held in August 2012 in Miles City. Notices as to time, place and date will be made by the family later.
Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home of Miles City is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials may be made to Montana Humane Society, Friends of the Miles City Public Library or to Saint Joseph’s Indian School, 1301 N Main St., Chamberlain, SD 57325.
Michael "Mike" Ames
Michael “Mike” Ames, 87, of Glendive died Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the Wibaux County Nursing Home in Wibaux.
Michael Erastus Ames was born June 24, 1924, to Edwin Howard Ames and Mary Margaret Lambert Ames in Mildred, the youngest of seven children. He spent his younger years helping his father in the family garage business and running errands for his mother. He started school at a young age. Even then he made an impact on those around him as the neighbor boy wouldn’t go to school unless Mr. Ames went with him. Consequently he was the youngest person in his graduating class in Savage. He was not only 16 years of age, but he also graduated as Salutatorian.
The next few years were spent farming and ranching on the Ames homestead located near Intake with his older brothers, Edwin and Edward. He worked at neighboring ranches until his brother, Edward, became seriously ill and Mr. Ames returned to help his brother, Edwin.
On May 22, 1953, Mr. Ames and Florence Harriet Mitchell were married
in Miles City. They had four children as well as adopting three more.
Mr. Ames had various careers over the years including heavy equipment construction, oilfield troubleshooting, diesel mechanic, and ended his working life as an engineer for the Burlington Northern Railroad. The job he enjoyed the most was engineering where he spent 20 years until his retirement in 1991.
He loved his family and one of his favorite things to do was going camping with them all. Many family vacations were spent camping, agate hunting, and rock hunting. Mr. Ames also loved to tinker around in his garage and his word games.
Holiday times were extremely important to Mr. Ames. One tradition originated with Mr. Ames that his family grew to cherish was the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible and singing Christmas carols ending with “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.
His survivors include his wife, Harriet; children, son Thomas (Mary Lee) Ames of Glendive, and daughters Patsy (Allen) Fercho of Glendive, Glenda (Bill) Newhouse of Rapid City, S.D., and Michelle “Shelly” Ames of Billings, son Tyler (Samantha) Ames of Missoula and son Samuel Ames of Glendive; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, Edwin, Edward, Francis and Donald; two sisters, Margaret and Dorothy; and son, Gerald “Jerry” Ames.
Visitation will begin on Monday, May 28, 2012, at 3 p.m. at the Assembly of God Church in Glendive followed by a prayer service at 6 p.m. Funeral services will be Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at 1 p.m. at the Assembly of God Church in Glendive. Interment will follow in the Dawson County cemetery in Glendive.
Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home of Miles City is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials for Mr. Ames may be sent to the Wibaux County Nursing Home.
Nancy Carey Ballance
Nancy Carey Ballance, 85, of Miles City died Monday, May 21, 2012, at the Friendship Villa Care Center in Miles City surrounded by her family.
Mrs. Ballance was born in Stanton, Fla., on Oct. 2, 1926, the daughter of Chauncey and Joy Parker Meekins. She attended schools and graduated from high school in Florida.
She met and married
Samuel Ballance on Dec. 31, 1948, and to this union, four sons where born. After Mr. and Mrs. Ballance were married
she received her Licensed Practical Nurse degree in Norfolk, Va. They moved throughout the United States during Mr. Ballance’s time in the military, settling in Las Vegas, Nev., until 2005 when she moved to Miles City.
Mrs. Ballance loved to be mischievous as her family would say, she was proud that she was a recovered addict, and she was always very spunky, but most of all she loved spending time with her family. Her favorite quote was “If you believe in something — let it be known.”
Her survivors include four sons: Brian (Wendy) of Miles City, William (Ellen) of St. Petersburg, Fla., Buster (Sophia) of Henderson, Nev., and Brett (Therese) of Henderson; 11 grandchildren: Jessica (Joel) Cottrell of Burleson, Texas, Justin (April) Ballance of West Fulton, Tenn., Kathie Ballance of Las Vegas, Nev., Angela Ballance of Albuquerque, N.M., Marie (Eric) Robinson of Tampa, Fla., Amanda Ballance (Justin) of Brooklyn Park, Minn., Susan (Norman) Alcarez, Charlie (Adrian) Cooper and Bobbi Morven, all of Miles City, Arlena and Lorrie Ferrell of Las Vegas, Nev.; and 19 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Samuel; one granddaughter; and one great-grandson.
At her request, no services are planned.
Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home of Miles City is in charge of the local arrangements.
Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the East Main Animal Clinic or to the charity of one’s choice.
Yvonne Shafer Wood
Yvonne Shafer Wood, 63, of Miles City died Sunday, June 18, 2006, at the family cabin near Jordan.
She was born in Detroit, Mich., on June 9, 1943, the daughter of Alden Knapp and Katheryn “Kitty” (Reno) Shafer. She grew up in Minneapolis, Minn., and graduated from Richfield High School in 1961.
She attended the University of Minnesota for two years before becoming employed as a reservations agent with Northwest Airlines.
On Sept. 14, 1968, she and Giff Wood, the love of her life, were married
. They moved to Miles City in 1969, then to Scobey in 1974. They returned to Miles City in 1984.
Mrs. Wood loved her family, pets, wild birds, quilting, reading and her most recent achievement, “the Cabin.”
She loved her work at Bureau of Land Management for the past 18 years and all of the friends she had there. The sisters of her sorority, Beta Sigma Phi, were also an important loving part of her life.
Her survivors include her husband Gifford, her daughter Danelle, her son Kyle (Sheryl), her grandchildren Sofia and Dario, her sister Dennyce (Carroll) Korb, her aunt Maxine Dale, nine nieces and nephews, several cousins, her close friends Patti and Carl Zabrocki, John Blaylock and all of her wide circle of friends.
She was preceded in death by her mother and father.
Funeral services will be Friday, June 23, 2006, at 10 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Miles City.
Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Also should friends desire, memorials may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Scott Michael Merwin
Scott Michael Merwin, 53, of Springfield, Ore., former Miles City resident, died Tuesday, May 23, 2006, of a heart attack in Springfield, Ore.
Mr. Merwin was born Aug. 21, 1952, in Hettinger, N.D.
Although it cannot be proven, most people who knew Mr. Merwin are pretty sure he immediately began arguing politics and religion with the other babies in the nursery. He spent his first 18 years in Hettinger. He was a well known hard worker, good friend and an amazing athlete. His quick temper and unusual strength served him well as an athlete, earning him the nickname “Animal” among his peers and coaches. Even as a young teenager it was obvious that Scott was a bull headed free spirit who cared more about following his heart than following the rules.
When he was 18 years of age, he bought a van and went on a journey that took him to places and cultures most people only dream of. Satisfied that he had learned all he could from this adventure, he traded in his van and hippie look for a cowboy hat and a horse named Dog Food. With no definite plan other than to head west, he rode on horseback from Hettinger to the Little Snowy Mountains near Lewistown. He no sooner got there and winter set in. He found an old abandoned sheep herder’s wagon to escape the weather. He would explore the mountains when the weather was nice and edible game was non-existent. Scott had no choice but to rename his horse Fillet Mignon. By the time spring broke he was ready for a new adventure. He walked 40 miles through the mountains to Lewistown where he would soon meet his true love April “Smiley” Bates.
Mr. Merwin became a logger and spent many years traveling the Northwest with his wife and three children, living in tents and campers. They were all true modern day nomads, but Mr. Merwin wanted better security for his family so they moved to Miles City and he got an 8-to-5 job. However, it wasn’t long before his spirit had to soar again. Knowing his family was secure and happy in one spot, he went back to logging and living the nomad life he always loved. He logged for many more years before he decided his battered and beat up body needed a break. He began driving trucks up and down the West Coast, hanging out with the Redwoods and the Pacific Ocean on a daily basis.
With all of the turmoil and controversy that seemed to tag along with Mr. Merwin on the road of life, he truly was at peace with his family, friends, God and himself. One thing he really loved to do was feed the birds on the West Coast (he really cared for God’s creatures). Once an eagle was trapped in a snare during the winter, so Mr. Merwin took off his winter coat to cover up the eagle while he removed the snare. Once the snare was removed the eagle flew away with his winter coat. He was left to wander through the mountains for miles in freezing cold weather until he spotted his coat. Mr. Merwin was a hard worker and a modern day mountain man.
His survivors include his wife, April; his son, Mike; his daughters, Amanda (Dominick and Devon) and Angela (Tesiah Lorraine); his brother, Brad (Bradlee, Paul, Brian, Adsem, Jorden), all of Miles City; his brother, Paul (Shelly, Marie, Lisa) of Lakeport, Calif.; and his second mom, Mardy Merwin of Hettinger.
He was preceded in death by an older brother, “Little Al” Merwin; and his parents, Albert and Lorraine Merwin.
Mr. Merwin’s family will receive friends on Wednesday, June 21, 2006, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Interment will be at a later date.
Dean King
Funeral services Dean King, 68, of Miles City were Monday afternoon, June 19, 2006, at the chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.
Mr. King died Tuesday, June 13, 2006, at the Holy Rosary Healthcare in Miles City.
He was born Oct. 17, 1937, in Moody, Mo., the son of Ralph and Doris Green King. He attended schools in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Miles City.
Following his education, he began working at the Miles City Packing Company at the age of 16 years. He was taught by Ed Clapper how to butcher and Mr. King worked there until he retired due to ill health in 1996.
He was considered a nomad and loved to travel. Mr. King enjoyed going to auctions, working on old cars and visiting old homesteads.
Survivors include his wife, Mable King of Bridger; a son, Ronald (Peggy) King of Deming, N.M.; two daughters, Kathy (Rusty) Mills of Napton, Mo., and Nancy King of Miles City; four brothers, Dwight King of Yakima, Wash., Dale King of Laurel, Gary King and Leland King, both of Marshall, Mo.; three sisters, Helen Duncan of Marshall, Mo., Evelyn Mutchler of Council Bluff, Iowa and Janice Money of Kansas; 12 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and special friends, Hollie Howell of Miles City and Diane Rodriguez of Great Falls.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Gerald “Jerry” King; and a brother, Lynn.
Funeral services will be Monday afternoon, June 19, 2006, at the chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.
Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.
Nicole "Niki" Rich
Nicole “Niki” E. Rich, age 26 of South Fork, Colo., formerly of Jordan, Mont., died on June 11, 2006 as a result of an automobile accident on La Veta Pass near Walsenberg, Colo., along with her young daughter, Alauna RaShell Rich, age 8.
Mrs. Rich was born July 27, 1979 in Miles City, Mont., the daughter of Tim Fogle and Shelley (Hageman) Fogle, both of Jordan. She attended school at Jordan Elementary School and then high school at Garfield County District High School, both in Jordan. Upon graduation, she married
Kirk Rich of Sand Springs, Mont., on September 26, 1998 in Jordan. Kirk works Construction, so the family moved as needed. In 1999, they lived in Moriarty, N.M., when Alexandra Nicole was born in Albuquerque, N.M., on November 11. Then in 2003, they lived in Central City, Colo., and Aurianna Shanille was born in Golden, Colo., on November 2.
Mrs. Rich will be missed most as a wonderful mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend to all. She will be remembered for her bubbly, fun-loving spirit, and extreme love for her family and friends. She was an awesome communicator, thanks to e-mail, the post office and the phone. There was never a shortage of picture taking with her around. She always did a wonderful job with her pictures and scrap booking.
Mrs. Rich is survived by her husband, Kirk Rich, South Fork, Colo.; two daughters: Alexandra Nicole and Aurianna Shanille of the family home; her parents - Tim Fogle of Jordan and Shelley (Hageman) Fogle of Jordan; a sister, Shawna Erlenbusch and her husband Harold and their daughter MaKenzie of Cohagen, Mont.; her brother, Michael Fogle of Jordan; maternal grandparents: Bob and Donna Hageman of Jordan; maternal grandmother, Betty Hageman of Jordan; as well as several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Alauna RaShell Rich
Alauna RaShell Rich, age 8, of South Fork, Colo., died on June 11, 2006 due to an automobile accident along with her mother, Nicole E. Rich.
Alauna was born on March 6, 1998, the daughter of Kirk and Nicole Rich. After her birth the family moved as needed for her father’s construction job. She attended school at Lamb Elementary School in Creede, Colo., until the time of her death. Alauna was always enthusiastic about everything life dealt her. She was caring and kind and always ready to play. Along with collecting unicorns, Alauna had a real love of animals.
Alauna is survived by her father, Kirk Rich of South Fork, Colo.; two sisters: Alexandra Nicole and Aurianna Shanille of the family home; her maternal grandparents: Tim Fogle and Shelley (Hageman) Fogle of Jordan; paternal grandparents: Ken and Linda Rich of Sand Springs, Mont.; maternal great-grandparents: Bob & Donna Hageman of Jordan; paternal great-grandparents: Chuck and Pohney Rich of Sand Springs; and Joe and Marie Hafla of Miles City, Mont.; maternal great-great grandparents: Betty Hageman of Jordan; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
A joint visitation will be held on Monday, June 19, 2006 from 1-8 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Jordan. During the visitation, friends and family are asked to stop and sign a message on the caskets of Niki and Alauna. Joint Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 11 a.m. at the Garfield County District High School Gym. Interment will follow in the family lot of the Pioneer cemetery. A potluck luncheon is to follow at the VFW Hall.
Memorials can be made to the “Rich Education Fund” for an Education Fund for Alexandra & Aurianna and may be sent to the Garfield County Bank in Jordan.
