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Nellie Bogard Casper
Nellie Bogard Casper, 93, of Apache Junction, Ariz., died there Oct. 16, 2003, after a long illness.
Nellie was born in Helena to Samuel and Josephine Bogard on Oct. 20, 1909, and lived in Helena until 1948. She worked as a telephone operator for many years. In her retirement she traveled frequently and enjoyed visiting family and friends in Helena and in California.
She was preceded in death by her daughter Doris Cartwright Cervelli Kane who died in 1995, and by her husband, Jim Casper. She is survived by her companion, Al Johnson of Apache Junction; her grandchildren, Bruno (Pat) Cervelli, and Kathy (Mike) OHagan of California, and five great-grandchildren.
Denise Roe Welch
Townsend - Former Lewiston, Idaho, resident Denise Roe Welch died Monday, Nov. 3, 2003, of complications of renal failure at St. Peters Hospital in Helena. She was 47.
She was born March 12, 1956, to Jim and Mary Ann Roe in Coeur dAlene, Idaho. The family moved to Lewiston where she grew up and graduated from Lewiston High School in 1974. Denise rose above her many disabilities as a result of an automobile accident in 1977.
She was a gourmet cook, and she and her brother, Mike, would prepare a free Thanksgiving dinner for the people of Townsend in their restaurant The Mint. She was an avid animal lover and people lover. Over the years she traveled extensively, including Japan and Hawaii, and went on cruises. Denise married
Shane Welch May 17, 1997, at Coeur dAlene, and they made their home in Townsend.
Survivors include her husband at their home in Townsend; her mother and stepfather, Mary Ann and Harold Stelljes; a sister and brother-in-law, Sherry and Ron Lyons; a brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Rosa Roe; four stepsisters and their families, Deanna Squires, Leslie Roberts, Terri Law and Debbie Ruchert, all of Lewiston; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father. The funeral is 2 p.m. Saturday at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Townsend with Pastor Rob Gohl officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of Connors Funeral Home in Townsend. A memorial service will be held in Lewiston at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Tri-State Dialysis Center, 1221 Highland, P.O. Box 189, Clarkston, St. Peters Hospital Dialysis in Helena or the Humane Society.
Robert Ralph 'Bob' Holmes
Robert Ralph "Bob" Holmes, age 86, of Helena, died Friday, Jan. 30, 2004.
Bob was born in eastern Montana near Ismay (now called Joe), March 27, 1917, to Claude Thomas and Nina Belle (Wright) Holmes. At the age of 4, Bob traveled with his family by wagon through Montana into Washington state, then back to Montana, where they eventually settled at Woodworth. He grew up in the Seeley-Swan and Ovando Valley areas with his three older brothers Darrell, Cecil and Hank (Henry), two older sisters Nessie and Mame (Marion), and younger sister Doris. Bob spent some time wrangling dudes into the Bob Marshall for the Kessler family out of the Gordon Ranch near Holland Lake.
Bob volunteered for the service in 1941 with the Montana Guard, and served in the Army's 25th Division, 161st Infantry. He was among the first troops to arrive at Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack. Bob served valiantly, fighting for his country and Montana through the South Pacific Islands until he was seriously wounded in 1945. Bob won the Silver Star for bravery and gallantry in action, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.
Upon returning to the states he trained and worked as an electrician. Bob became a master electrician and served as a foreman for Allen Electric for many years. He wired dozens of major projects, including ICBM missile sites, Carroll College, the University of Montana Library, and the Miles City Veterans Center. Well respected in the field, Bob trained many young men in the trade. Bob was a longtime member of the IBEW.
Bob was a loving husband and father, a hard worker, who provided well for his family. Bob was man of integrity, respected by all who knew him. He was an old cowboy, and an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing.
Bob was preceded in death by his first wife and love of his life, Anna Mae, in 1981, after over 30 years of marriage; and by his second wife, Norma, in 1994; and by all siblings except his loving sister Doris.
Bob is survived by his stepdaughter Donna West of Atlanta; daughter Sharon Wilson of Billings; his sons, Robert S. of Helena, and Scott and wife Sarah of Lincoln, Neb.; former daughter-in-law Roberta Holmes of Helena; and former son-in-law Earl Zuelke of Helena. Bob has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. today at Retz Funeral Home. Funeral services are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the funeral home. Interment with military honors will follow at Forestvale cemetery. Memorials in Robert's name are suggested to St. Peter's Hospice, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601
Ellen 'Georgette' Lanning
Ellen "Georgette" Lanning passed away Feb. 1, 2004. Georgette was born Jan. 9, 1916, in Townsend, one of eight children born to George and Mary Cecille Zimmerman, and great-granddaughter of area pioneers Moses and Susan Rose Doggett.
Georgette married
Henry "Hank" Lanning in October 1936. They spent several years in Winston before making their permanent home in Townsend.
She was a loving mother to her six daughters who survive her: Marietta Zollinger (Terry); Marnie Harris (Sam); Laurie Lanning; Lisa Jepson (Joe); Janet Childress; and Jill Lanning; her beloved niece Peggy Tate and husband George; her dear friend Claire Wall; 14 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Georgette was a loving grandmother to a generation of children who had a favored place in her heart and her wonderfully warm and comforting lap, followed by a generation of great grandchildren who enjoyed the same favored place.
Georgette spent her life giving of herself to others - her family, her friends, and her church, which was deeply important to her. She was an accomplished and self-taught pianist and organist. Her love for music was so strong that she unloaded mail in the early years of her marriage from the Winston train depot and delivered it in the area until she had saved enough to buy a piano.
Georgette was the last surviving Zimmerman sibling, and was also preceded in death by her husband, Henry Lanning, and a grandchild, Teresa Jo Zollinger. Georgette leaves many friends and relatives who will mourn her passing and celebrate her life.
Cremation has taken place. Rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. today, Feb. 3, at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Townsend and funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 1 p.m., also at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Interment of ashes will follow at Holy Cross Catholic cemetery.
Townsend Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Donations can be made in memory of Georgette to Broadwater Health Center Auxiliary in care of Myrtle Geisser.
"...When she shall die, take her and cut her out in little stars, And she will make the face of Heaven so fine that all the World will be in love with night..."
Phyllis Janet McGillick
Phyllis Janet McGillick, age 89, died Sunday Jan. 25, 2004, in Butte.
She was born to Nathan and Della (Atkinson) Reynolds at the farm home of her maternal grandparents Robson and Minnesota Atkinson on May 23, 1914, in New York Mills, Minn. The Reynolds family moved to Garrison in 1917, where her father worked on the Madigan Ranch. In 1919 they moved to Deer Lodge, where her father worked in a mens store. In 1921 the family moved back to New York Mills to help the Reynolds family with their hotel and restaurant.
Phyllis was a very bright student, and graduated as salutatorian of her 1933 high school class.
She started "working" as a child, icing the cakes for the restaurant dinners, then she started waiting on the customers and, in time, this became her career.
Following high school, she attended a business college in Minneapolis and became a legal secretary. Then she attended bartending and waitress schools to be certified for working in nightclubs. She worked for several years at the Happy Hour Club in Minneapolis. The club hosted big bands and famous people of the era.
In the early 1940s, Phyllis married
Elwood Schweig. He was in the Coast Guard and she worked at Lockheed in Minneapolis in a defense plant wiring jack panels for fighter planes for the war effort. In 1942, Phyllis went back to New York Mills to take care of her terminally ill mother.
In 1946, Phyllis married
Larry Lahti, and they moved to Butte, where her son was born. In the early 1950s Phyllis began working at Lydias where she waited on Butte citizenry for more than 20 years. She married
Thomas McGillick in 1960 and during the 1970s and 1980s she continued to work in Las Vegas, the El Tovar Hotel at Grand Canyon National Park, the Inn at Death Valley, Calif., and the Country Club in Columbia Falls.
At age 72 Phyllis retired and lived in Columbia Falls and Helena to be near her children. For the last 10 years she has lived in Butte, where her children came to visit her. Phyllis was a member of the Womens Protective Union for many years. She loved her womens club at the Rosalie Manor and was a faithful member of the Belmont Center lunch groups.
Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Michone and Michael Letson, West Yellowstone; son and daughter-in-law, Lance and Dana Lahti, Clancy; grandchildren, Whipple Walter, Kipling Walter, Jodi Lahti, Heidi Lahti, Michael Letson Jr. and Alison Letson; great-grandchildren, Whipple Walter Jr., Zachariah Walter, Zedekiah Walter, Zarren Walter and Kadin Lahti; longtime friend and companion, James Curtin.
Her remains have been cremated. Memorial services will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Katherine Scholl (Ellis)
Katherine Scholl (Ellis), passed away at her home on Monday, Jan. 26, 2004, of complications from diabetes.
Kathy was born in California on Nov. 4, 1940, the older of two daughters to Art and Lorraine Scholl. Her sister Elizabeth was born three years later. The Scholl family moved to Drummond in the late 1940s, and Kathy attended school there, graduating from high school in 1958. In 1958, Kathy enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula and attended for three years.
Kathy then moved to the San Francisco area. She worked and lived there for a couple of years when she met and wed Roger Ellis, who was in the Navy. They were later divorced.
Kathy met her second husband, Bill Oglevee, in Florida. They moved to Montana in the 1970s.
When Bill died from a heart attack, Kathy went back to work. She had been a capable bookkeeper and in Montana had worked for several private firms. She later worked for state government, and in 2001 she retired from the state of Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Since retirement she has been involved in a number of volunteer activities - the Rocky Mountain Development Councils Senior Companion Program, the Montana Library for the Blind, the Helena area Transit Authority Advisory Board, and the Helena Walk to Emmaus Community. She was active in the St. Pauls United Methodist Church, serving on several committees. She was a member of the Capital City Chapter for the Blind. She was a peer advocate for the Montana Independent Living Project. She was a member of the Helena Senior Center and participated in line dancing and playing pinochle.
Kathy is survived by her sister and husband, Elizabeth and James Gordon of Troy; her aunt and uncle, Cathy "Dolly" and Boyd Morris of La Fayette, Calif.; cousins, Patty Dewald of San Francisco and Karen Dewald of Berkeley, Calif.; two stepsons and a stepdaughter, Darrell Oglevee, Randy Oglevee, and Donna Abraham, and a step-granddaughter, Tammy Oglevee Seil; and her three beloved cats.
Kathy will be dearly missed by her relatives and friends. A reception will follow the service and will be held at St. Pauls United Methodist Church at 505 Logan.
Joan Irene Whittinghill
Joan Irene Whittinghill died on Jan. 29, 2004. She was born Aug. 29, 1928, in Jerome, Idaho, and soon moved to Montana to spend the rest of her life.
Joan loved children and devoted her life to raising and caring for her own and many others. She believed that there was always another seat at the table and another place to sleep. She will be remembered for her quick wit and loving nature. Her smile warmed hearts and dried tears. Known for her prowess as an entertainer, Joan loved to host parties for both children and adults. Her graciousness, warmth and kindness will always be remembered by those she touched.
Joan graduated from Billings Senior High School and attended St. Marys College in Kansas. She met her husband, Whit, a Billings pediatrician, during a clinical rotational at Childrens Hospital in Denver. They were married
in Billings in 1950 where they raised their seven children. In 1990, they moved to Helena, Whits hometown.
She was preceded in death by her husband Dr. John "Whit" Whittinghill, her parents and a brother. She is survived by her sister, Fern Martin of Helena; her brother and sister-in-law, Bud and Rose Richey of Las Vegas, Nev.; her children and their families, John and Marisela Whittinghill, their children Helena and Grace of Puebla, Mexico; James and Nancy Dorn Whittinghill, their children Caroline and Patrick of Arlington, Va.; Mary Whittinghill and Terry Swope of Helena and their children Charlotte and Bruce Lauerman, their son Henry of New Tripoli, Pa., and John Hilton and his fiancée Tammie Gorsich of Helena; Ann and Kevin Bauer and their children Christopher, Brooks and Catey of Billings; Susan Whittinghill and Skip Beadle and their daughter Francie of Bozeman; Jean Whittinghill and Mike Arnold and their daughter Audrey of Helena; and Joseph Whittinghill and Blake Takamura of Seattle, Wash.
Funeral services will be held at the Cathedral of St. Helena on Monday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. The vigil will be held the evening prior at Hagler-Anderson Funeral Home at 7 p.m., 650 Logan St.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the John and Joan Whittinghill Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Endowment at St. Vincent Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 35200, Billings, MT 59107, or the Cathedral of St. Helena, 530 N. Ewing, Helena, MT 59601, or Hospice of St. Peters, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601.
Jesse Leo Cleary
A wake and celebration of the life of Jesse Leo Cleary will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie #16, 801 Fee St., Helena.
Jesse died Oct. 26, 2003, at St. Peters Hospital from a ruptured aorta.
L. Douglas 'Doug' Thompson
L. Douglas "Doug" Thompson passed away Feb. 4, 2004, at St. Peters Hospital.
Doug was born May 14, 1930, to Leonard and Sylvia Thompson, in a little house on Wilder Street in Helena. He attended Helena schools, graduating from Helena High in 1948.
He married
Virginia Dahlhausen July 5, 1952, and went to work for Mountain Bell in October 1952, retiring in 1982 after 30 years. He belonged to the National Guard and Army Reserve for many years. Doug started Timber Line Seasoning in the early 1960s.
Doug is survived by his wife, Virginia; sons, Michael and Linda, Gary and Roweena, Bart and Ellen; grandsons, Judd and Chance; granddaughters, Ann, Sara and Samantha.
The family will receive friends for visitation from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at Retz Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at Sunset Memorial Gardens with dedication of the grave by Ben Evans. The family suggests memorials in Dougs name to American Heart Association, for Helena, MT Office, 4414 Woodland Park Ave. No., Seattle, WA 98103.
Howard Wright Copenhaver
OVANDO - Howard Wright Copenhaver went to be with the Lord on Feb. 6, 2004, after a long, full life.
He was born in a sod house on the eastern Montana prairie on March 7, 1914, to Moody and Elizabeth Copenhaver. At an early age, he moved with his family to Ovando, where they took up ranching. After graduating from Hellgate High School, he went on to rodeo, break horses and trap. In 1941, he volunteered for the Navy. Serving four years on the USS Maryland, he was involved in the Pacific Naval Battles of WWII. While on leave in 1944, he married
the love of his life, Margaret McLean. Shortly after Howard was wounded in the Battle of Layte Gulf, he recovered and received an honorable discharge. Returning home to Ovando, he continued to ranch as well as log. He also was an outfitter on hunting and fishing trips in the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness as Copenhaver Outfitters. It was in the latter that he touched and was touched by many wonderful people from all walks of life all over the world. His outfitting expeditions led him to write four books; "They Left Their Tracks, " "More Tracks, " "Copenhaver" and "Country and Mule Tracks, " sharing his experiences with those he loved as well as those who were unable to experience it for themselves. Throughout his life, Howard enjoyed playing the guitar, music and dancing, lending his hand to all, especially in the reconstruction of the Community Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Leona Copenhaver and Louise Brunett; and grandson Peter Lapka. He is survived by his brothers, David Eugene, Lawrence and his wife, Laura, Richard Wendell, Leon and his wife, Mary Jo; sister, Betty Roe, and their families. He is also survived by his wife, Margaret; son Steve and his wife, Donna; grandson Todd; great-grandson Ethan; grandsons Rich and David; granddaughter Beth and Mike Zander; daughter Sue and John Lapka; granddaughter Andrea; granddaughter Patricia and Jimmy Watson; great-grandchildren Terell, Olivia, Elaina, and Celina; granddaughter Sarah and Mike Melnick; great-grandson Marcellinus; grandson Timothy and Mary Lapka; great-granddaughter Luciana; and grandchildren Christopher, Bridget, Rory, Anthony, Ruth, Benjamin, Brian and Daniel Lapka.
A memorial service will be held on Friday the 13th at 2 p.m. in Ovando, at the Grade School Gymnasium. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in Howards name.
Arrangements are under the care of Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula.
Patricia Jane Price
Patricia Jane Price, age 65, of Helena, passed away Thursday afternoon, Feb. 5, 2004, in Helena. Patricia was a teacher, principal and superintendent of schools in Judith Gap, Hysham and in other communities in Montana. Her friend and ex-husband, Henry Price of Avon; her son, Ryan Price and his wife, Kim of Helena; daugher Lisa Robertson of Falls City, Ore., survive her. She also has three grandchildren: Amanda, Brian and Olivia. A funeral Liturgy is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Retz Funeral Home in Helena. A family interment will take place at a later date.
Wanda Williamson
Loving wife and mother, Wanda Williamson of Helena passed away peacefully Feb. 3, 2004.
She was born in California April, 11, 1938. Wanda met and married
Richard Glenn Williamson, and they made their home in Helena.
Wanda was loved and will be missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Jack. Survivors include her husband, Richard; sons, Benjamin of Belgrade, and Richard of Townsend, and Robert of Helena; one daughter, Carrie of Helena; six grandchildren, Sabrina, Michael, Jessica, Rick, Heather and Samantha; and three great-grandchildren, all of Helena
Private services will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9 at the Veterans cemetery at Fort Harrison.
