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Eric Kyle Johnson
Eric Kyle Johnson took his own life on March 30, 2003, near the family home in Toston.
Eric was born June 30, 1984, at St. Peters Hospital in Helena. Eric was a senior at Broadwater High School. Eric had enlisted in the Navy with the goal of becoming a chef.
Eric had many interests: motorcycles, paint ball guns, canoeing, music, computer games and most of all his friends and family. He loved Clark Canyon Bible Camp. He went as a camper and as a counselor for the younger kids. He loved Dale and Sandy, who impacted his life forever. Eric loved the Lord and he was learning how to love others as he has been loved, with forgiveness, acceptance and accountability.
Eric worked for Bobs in Townsend and for Northwest Log Home Care in Toston. Eric enjoyed working with Clayton and Lael because he got to do guy stuff.
Eric was a great uncle to Taylor and Dawson Amsk. He remembered their birthdays and Christmas. Always coming up with gifts he knew little guys would like.
Jennafer and Eric were just starting to relate to each other as peers. He liked to put her in a headlock when she would come into Bobs grocery store.
He loved and admired his older sister Jill. Jill said, "I was just starting to really like that kid!" Eric loved his cousins and had a marvelous time at Loris and Daves wedding. He said, "Mom, I really need to know how to dance!" Eric looked forward to all the cousins showing up in Toston for the Fourth of July picnic and fireworks on the old one-lane bridge. Eric loved to visit his Grandpa Barney, and play cards with Great Aunt Edna.
I cant express the gratitude that is in our hearts towards all the people in Erics life who have shaped the person he was becoming. Eric was a work in progress. We as a family got to enjoy the growth Eric experienced that would not have been possible without the time, effort and love given. I am especially grateful to those who risked telling Eric about Gods love for him that is manifested by the death of His own son on the Cross for our mistakes, bad choices, or moments of anger that we cant take back.
We will never know what was in Erics heart that fateful night, but know this dear one:
God was not the author of this event but He will finish this story one day, "As surely as I live says the Lord every knee will bow before me: every tongue will confess to God", - Romans 14:11, NIV.
Funeral will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday April 3, at the Broadwater High School Gymnasium. Cremation will follow.
Lila Mae Skartveit
Lila Mae Skartveit, age 83, of Helena, died on March 31, 2003, at Big Sky Care Center of congestive heart failure. Lila was born on Nov. 16, 1919, in Harlowton, to John and Alfretta (Baldwin) Sherburn. She graduated Harlowtown High School in 1937. On Dec. 23, 1941, she married
William Skartveit in Billings and he preceded her in death on Sept. 28, 1958.
Lila cooked for the Moore Ranch in Two Dot and also cooked school lunches at the elementary school there for many years. She worked as an office clerk for Lewistown Medical Clinic and an insurance, reception, admitting clerk for Central Montana Hospital until her retirement in 1982. Lila liked doing crafts of all kinds, liked to read, do word search, play most any game, and sewing for family, friends and the public.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brothers Arnold "Ole", Arthur, Roy Leon and Robert "Bud" Sherburn; and infant daughter Baby Skartveit.
Lila is survived by her son, Roger (Nancy) Skartveit of Helena; daughters Karen Poff of Great Falls and Margaret (Harold) Schmierer of Glendive; brothers James Sherburn of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.; sisters Ruth Thompson of Joseph, Ore., and Ann Kucera of Billings; 8 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 4, at Retz Funeral Home. Interment will take place at a later time in Lewistown City cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to the American Diabetes Association Montana Office, 3203 3rd Ave. N., Suite 203, Billings, MT 59101-1945.
John A. Dowdall
John A. Dowdall, former banker in Anaconda and Polson, died on Sunday evening, March 30, 2003, in Tucson, Ariz., at the age of 78. The cause of death was heart failure. He was born in Anaconda to Michael and Katherine Dowdall, Irish immigrants of Anaconda via Massachusetts, and raised in the eastern part of Anaconda, which he frequently and affectionately referred to as "Goosetown, " its local nickname. He graduated from St. Peters High School in 1942, where he was an avid baseball, basketball and football player. He served in the Navy from 1942 until 1945, spending much of the time in the Pacific theater stationed on the ship, Beaulah Wood. He graduated from the University of Montana in 1950.
Prior to entering banking, he was a high school teacher and coach in Virginia City, Dillon and Anaconda. He began his banking career at the-then Daly Bank. From 1969 until 1973 he was the State Banking Commissioner under Governor Forrest Andersen. Following that he founded First Citizens Bank in Polson, where he was president until his retirement in 2001.
Dowdall was throughout his life extremely active in civic and fraternal affairs, serving on and presiding over a host of governmental bodies and organizations. While living in Anaconda, he was an elected member of the school board for a number of years and a member of, among others, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of Columbus. He served as the state commander of the VFW in the late 1960s and was the head of the Anaconda chapter of the Hibernians. As a veteran, he was a frequent speaker at Veterans Day and Memorial Day observances in Anaconda and Polson. He was elected and served as mayor of Polson in the early 1980s.
He was the force behind a number of economic development initiatives in Polson, including establishing the Polson Community Development Association. He was a tireless advocate for the location of a convention center in Polson. Inspired from his days in Virginia City, he founded with Larry Barsness of the Virginia City Players the Port Polson Players. Through the sponsorship of the First Citizens Bank, he organized and participated in the multi-mile Fun Run in Polson. Shortly before his retirement, he undertook chairmanship of the capital campaign for the St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson - which he frequently referred to as his "swan song."
In addition to his civic activities, he had two other passions - his Irish heritage and his golf game. At various times, he was the master of ceremonies and speaker at the Anaconda Hibernians St. Patricks Day dinner and was a frequent speaker at the Polson Rotary Club on or around March 17. Two weeks ago, he marched in the Tucson St. Patricks Day parade. He loved to delight any audience (whether at one of his childrens weddings or in a pub in Ireland) with his repertoire of Irish songs. He was a longtime member of the Polson Golf Club and before that the Anaconda Country Club. In his later years he was striving to achieve every golfers dream - to shoot a score equal to his age.
He is survived by his wife, Marie; his brother, Joseph, of Anaconda; and sister, Margaret, of Helena; his children, Patrick of Wellesley, Mass., Mary Ann Bucy of Missoula, Colleen Dowdall of Missoula and Karen Sandford of Seattle; his 7 stepchildren, Joseph of Polson, Sean, Michael, James, Katherine, Rosemary and Michelle; 20 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren and numerous nephews and nieces.
There will be visitation at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Polson from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. Rosary will be said at 7 p.m. Friday at the Church. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, April 5, at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Polson. Burial will be held at Lakeview cemetery with military honors.
The Rev. Parkman Dexter Howe Jr.
Gilford, N.H. - The Rev. Parkman Dexter Howe Jr., age 88, of Gilford, N.H., died at his home Saturday, March 29, 2003.
Mr. Howe was born in Clinton, Mass., Sept. 12, 1914, the son of Grace (Cummins) and Parkman D. Howe Sr. He grew up in Needham, Mass., and attended Nobel and Greenough School in Needham. He graduated from Harvard University in 1937.
Parkie married
Helen McIntosh in 1941. They were married
for 50 years until her death in 1991. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He served aboard the destroyer escort Francis M. Robinson, leading convoys across the North Atlantic. The ship was credited with sinking two submarines.
Mr. Howe pursued work in manufacturing and farming in Laconia, N.H., and Gilford. In the early 1950s he attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., and graduated in 1955. He was ordained into the Episcopal Ministry. He served at Christ Church, Exeter, N.H., and was the rector at Grace Church, East Concord and St. Marys Penacook, N.H.
In the early 1960s, Rev. Howe became involved in the civil rights movement. He worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Alabama and Mississippi, registering voters. His work in this area culminated in the Civil Rights March with Martin Luther King Sr., from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965.
From 1965 to 1974, Rev. Howe served as chaplain and assistant headmaster at The Darrow School, New Lebanon, N.Y.
Rev. Howe retired to Gilford, where he served on the planning board for many years. In 1986, he and his wife, Helen, were chosen Grand Marshals of Gilford Old Home Day. He was also active on the Board of the Spaulding Youth Center. He was a member of the society for the protection of New Hampshire Forest.
Rev. Howe was an avid sailor and member of the Winnipesaukee Yacht club. He regularly won races and regattas on Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. He also sailed on the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia.
He circumnavigated Newfoundland, and sailed past the northernmost town on the east coast of North America, Nain and Labrador. He was elected a member of the Cruising Club of America.
Rev. Howe was also a marksman and a hunter. He hunted various big game animals in Scotland, Newfoundland, New England, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska. He was active in the hunter safety program of the National Rifle Association.
Survivors include five children, Jonathan Howe of Pittsburg, N.H., Parkman Howe III of Carlisle, Mass., Andrew Howe of Gilford, Sara Howe-Cobb of Augusta, and Barbara Howe of Helena; two sisters Marietta Cutler of Needham, and Maud Rheault of Dover, Mass.; 11 grandchildren and 11 nephews and nieces.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Meredith Trinity Episcopal Church in Meredith, N.H. The Rev. Robin Thomas will officiate. Interment will be at a later date at the McCoy cemetery in Gilford.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in the Rev. Howes name to the Society of the Protection of New Hampshire Forest, 54 Portsmouth St. Concord, NH 03301; Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101, or Community Health and Hospice Inc., 780 N. Main St. Laconia NH 03246.
The Wilkinson-Beane Funeral Home of Laconia is in care of the arrangements. For more information to view an on-line memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.
Oleta Frances Espenlaub
December 15, 1908-March 25, 2003
Oleta Frances Ratliff was born in Las Animas, Colo., to George Hubbard and Rebecca Virginia Ratliff (Culver). Oleta was the oldest of six children.
The Ratliffs migrated from Las Animas to Prineville, Ore., in 1909 where they homesteaded five years. Afterwards, they traveled by covered wagon to the beautiful Willamette Valley of Western Oregon. There grandpa Ratliff purchased a farm in Jefferson, and tilled the rich Pacific Northwest soil to provide for his family.
Grandma Ratliff went home to be with the Lord during the influenza epidemic of 1920. Shortly afterwards, Oleta and her brothers and sisters were sent to the Boys and Girls Aide Society Orphanage in Portland, Ore. Not long after their admission to the orphanage, at the age of 12, Oleta was placed in a private home in Portland where she worked as a housekeeper, cook and babysitter while attending school. Her brothers and sisters were individually placed in separate homes; it was over 40 years before they were united.
On Dec. 9, 1937, Oleta married
Harold Theodore Espenlaub of Evensville, Ind. Harold and Oleta bore two sons, Lloyd Phillip and Norman George Espenlaub. The family lived at Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, Calif., where Harold worked as a firefighter on the base for 35 years. Lastly, in 1994, Harold and Oleta relocated to Montana.
Her husband, Harold; her sister Doris; and brothers James and George preceded Oleta in death. Oleta is survived by her two sisters Mary and Verda; her two sons, Lloyd and Norman; and five grandchildren, David, Holly, Laurel, Jeff and Paul.
A memorial service will be held at Beehive Homes, 13 Bumblebee Court in Helena at 11 a.m., Thursday, April 2. Those wishing to contribute a gift in memory of Oleta may make donations to Beehive homes for the construction of the residential gazebo.
Minnie Finkbeiner
Minnie G. Finkbeiner, 99, of Lewistown, died Monday, March 31, 2003, at the Central Montana Skilled Nursing Center.
Minnie was born June 16, 1903, at Hecla, S.D., to John and Matilda (Yonker) Stolle. She received her schooling in South Dakota and moved to Grass Range when she was 14 years of age.
On Dec. 1, 1925, in Roundup, she was united in marriage to Leno M. "Dick" Finkbeiner. They lived and ranched in and around the Grass Range area for many years. She moved to Lewistown in 1989.
Minnie was a lifetime member of the Anna Smalley Chapter, Order of Eastern Star in Grass Range. She was also the oldest living member.
She enjoyed crocheting, tatting, gardening and baking. Minnie was a very loving and devoted mother and grandmother and leaves the family with many fond memories. Survivors include a daughter, Pearl Olden of Helena; four sons, Roy Finkbeiner of Belgrade, Russell (Beverly) Finkbeiner of Laurel, Richard "Dick" (Ruth) Finkbeiner of Belgrade, and Robert (Sandra) Finkbeiner of Canyon Ferry; one brother, Arthur Stolle of Hardin; 9 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1981, a brother, Harry, son-in-law, Donald Olden, and her parents.
Funeral services will be held at the Creel Funeral Chapel on Friday, April 4, at 2 p.m. interment will be at the Lewistown City cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donors choice. Creel Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements.
John Gilreath
John Gilreath of Helena passed away Friday, March 28, 2003, of natural causes.
He was born in Custer Feb. 4, 1923, to John and Flossie Gilreath. He moved to Helena when he was 17. On Feb. 19, 1944, he married
the love of his life, Relpha Applegate. They celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in February of this year.
In 1947, John went to work for Phillips Dairy delivering milk in Helena, where he acquired his nickname, "Big John." After 20 years at Phillips Dairy, he and Jim Gillespie began their own business, Helena Dairy Gold. He then went to work for Lewis and Clark Road Department for nine years, until he retired and began his favorite pastime as a grandpa.
For the next 20 years, John enjoyed such hobbies as fishing, gardening and sharing his time and humor with his grandkids, who knew him as "Pops."
Brothers Walter, Howard and Robert Gilreath, and sisters Ruth Bader, Mert Hjelm, Edith Christopherson and Helen Buckner preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Relpha; daughter, Carol (Darrel) Alm; and son Jack; brothers Art (Clara) Gilreath, Kenneth (Donna Belle) Gilreath; a sister, Veta (Ben) McMaster; grandchildren, Doug (Emily) Alm, Cathy (Jeff) Ingram, and Kellen and Kristy Gilreath; and great-grandchildren, Damon and Derek Alm.
You will be missed greatly for the advice you gave and the lessons you taught. Thanks for being the best dad and husband ever.
We love you,
Mom, Carol and Jack
Cremation has taken place and no services will be conducted upon Johns request.
Archie L. Dulaney
Anaconda - Archie Lynn Dulaney, age 68, died Friday, March 28, 2003, at the Community Hospital of Anaconda following a courageous four-year battle with cancer.
He was born June 4, 1934, in Boulder to Henry and Hattie (Maranick) Dulaney. He married
Joan Shultz Sept. 19, 1954, in Boulder. He enlisted in the Army in 1953 and was honorably discharged in 1956. His job with the telephone company brought him and his family to Anaconda in 1967 from Bozeman. He retired in 1994 after 35 years of service.
Survivors include his wife, Joan, of Anaconda; children, Ed Dulaney of Anaconda, Marjorie Dulaney of Portland, Ore., Darcy (Richard) Groth of Great Falls, Jim (Barbara) Dulaney of Mitchell, S.D., Irene (Steven) Byrd of Havre and Cenia (Larry) Huber of Anaconda; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Memorial services will be conducted from the Anaconda United Methodist Church on Wednesday, April 2, at 11 a.m. Military honors will be presented at the church by the American Legion Color Guard. Memorials are requested to the Anaconda Hearthstone Apartments and/or American Cancer Society. Arrangements are under the care of the KT Riddle Funeral Homes.
Robert L. "Bob" Toavs
On Sunday, March 30, 2003, Robert L. " Bob" Toavs left this world to meet his Lord and Savior. Bob was born on November 14, 1936, in Wolf Point, where he lived until he graduated from high school. He then joined the Navy for a four-year assignment as a jet engine mechanic aboard an aircraft carrier. During his years with the Navy, he earned a good conduct medal.
Forty-four years ago, when his assignment with the Navy was complete, he moved back to Montana to marry his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Jackie (Boysun) Toavs. Bob recently retired from the Montana Power Company, where he gave 33 years of dedicated service as a plumber and pipefitter for the natural gas service division. Bob was proud to have worked for the Montana Power Company, and missed his coworkers and friends greatly upon his retirement and move from Hamilton to Helena.
Bobs greatest joy was in spending time and visiting with his family and friends. He could often be found fishing, hunting, camping, boating and just enjoying the great Montana outdoors with family and friends.
Bob was preceded in death by his mother and father, Clara and Theodore Toavs.
Survivors include his wife, Jackie Toavs, of Helena; sons, Doug Toavs of Anchor Point, Alaska, and Greg Toavs of Great Falls; daughter and son-in-law Jacki and Tom Winfield of Helena; and brother and sister-in-law Wallace and Stella Toavs of Wolf Point.
Bob touched many peoples hearts throughout his lifetime. He was a great friend to all of us, and those who had the privilege to know him will miss him sorely.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 3, at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Ave, Helena.
Memorials are suggested to the Mikal Kellner Foundation for Animals, P.O. Box 389, Helena, MT 59604. The Mikal Kellner Foundation for Animals assists individuals and groups providing shelter, food, or medical care to wild and domestic animals that are displaced or injured.
Retz Funeral Home is caring for arrangements.
