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Anita Nelson
Date of Death: Jun 13, 2013
STEVENSVILLE – Anita Nelson passed away on Thursday, June 13, 2013 at the family home in Stevensville from a short battle with cancer.
Anita was born in Greybull, Wyo., April 21, 1930. Her early years were spent on her grandparent’s ranch. She loved to ride horses, working the ranch dogs and the ranch lifestyle. She attended high school in Minneapolis, Minn. She played the trumpet in the jazz band and played classical piano. She loved to tell everyone she swam in the Mississippi River out the back door of her home.
The family moved to Kimball, Neb. in 1956. She trained horses on the ranch where they lived.
On a visit to Montana, she fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and moved here in 1963.
Anita was a cook in three cafes in Stevensville, trained show and race horses and obedience and herding dogs. In her later years, she loved to be on Facebook, playing Farmville and texting her family and friends. Anita loved her visits with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Anita was preceded in death by her parents, Morris and Lois Schwartz. Survivors include son, Ron (Terri) Pollard and their daughters, Mandi and Shelbi of Douglas, Wyo.; daughter, Sherry (Lowell) Smith and their children, Nathan (Amanda) Smith of Stevensville and Courtney (Marty) Julien of Spokane, Wash.; daughter, Pam (Bill) Smith and their sons, Josh and Jeremy of Spokane, Wash.; great-grandchildren, Koen, Carter, Maddox, Camas, Timber and Aspen.
Private services will be held at the Smith home on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The family suggests memorials may be made in Anita’s name to the Bitterroot Valley Humane Association. A special thank you to Aspen Hospice.
A. James "Duke" Enzinna
Date of Death: Jul 6, 2013
Location of Service: Dieterle Memorial Home - Montgomery,
STEVENSVILLE – A. James “Duke” Enzinna, 91, passed away Saturday, July 6, 2013, at the Bitterroot Valley Living Center.
Angelo James Enzinna was born Nov. 11, 1921, to Frank and Lena (Sacco) Enzinna in Lockport, N.Y. He grew up in the house his father, a stonemason, built. In 1940, he graduated from Lockport High School, where he was on the football, basketball and track teams. He earned a scholarship to North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
His college years were interrupted by World War II, when Duke enlisted in the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942. He served with the 36th “Texas” Infantry Division, in the Antitank Company, 142nd Infantry Regiment. Pfc. Enzinna participated in campaigns in Italy, France and Germany, on the 5th Army front. He earned the Bronze Star Medal for his role in the capture of Velletri, opening the way to the liberation of Rome.
After his honorable discharge from the Army in the fall of 1945, Duke returned to North Central College to finish his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and biology. It was there that he met his wife of 58 years, Carol Westphal, and they were married
Aug. 7, 1948. They lived in Aurora, Ill., Carol’s hometown, where they raised their two children, Claudia and Jeff, and later lived in nearby Montgomery. After Carol’s death in 2006, Duke moved to Stevensville, first to the home of his daughter and son-in-law and later to the Living Center.
He worked as a corrective therapist at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, first as a physical therapist and soon at the Blind Rehabilitation Center. As the specialty of blind rehab was developing, he was one of the pioneers in the field of orientation and mobility. He taught countless blinded veterans to travel safely and confidently with the long cane. He also shared his knowledge in training workshops for the next generations of O&M therapists, as well as summer workshops for blind students, until his retirement in 1984.
Duke was a devoted family man, never too busy to help with projects or to take his family on a yearly vacation. He enjoyed building and woodworking, crossword puzzles and following his Chicago teams, the Cubs and Bulls.
Duke was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Samuel, George, Joseph, Charles and Peter; his sisters, Josephine Qualiana and Mamie Keihl; and his wife and best friend, Carol. He is survived by his daughter, Claudia (Dana) Bible of Stevensville; son, Jeff (Christie) of Richmond, Texas; grandchildren, Michelle (Cody) Luff of Portland, Ore., Nathan Bible of Missoula and Ashton Enzinna of Huntsville, Texas; four sisters-in-law, Lois Stamm, Martha Enzinna, Joan Winchell and Mary Enzinna; and numerous nephews and nieces.
Funeral services will be held at Dieterle Memorial Home in Montgomery, Ill. Special thanks to the staff at the Living Center for their loving and personalized care. Memorial donations may be sent to the American Foundation for the Blind, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10121, or afb.org.
Edith L. Wark
Date of Death: Jun 23, 2013
Location of Service: Riverside cemetery - Stevensville,
STEVENSVILLE – Edith L. Wark (“Edie” or “Edythe”), 87, died at her home in Stevensville on Sunday, June 23, 2013. She was surrounded by her family.
She was born Aug. 11, 1925, to Boyd and Ester Wark of Moccasin. She was one of 12 children. In 1942, the family moved to Stevensville, where Edie graduated from Stevensville High School. In April 1952, she entered the Women’s Army Corps and attended basic training at Fort Lee, Va. She was stationed in France, Germany, Fort Meade, Md., Presidio, Calif., Camp Zoma, Japan and Korea. She was one of nine family members to serve in the United States armed forces.
Edie was given numerous awards, commendations, medals and citations in her distinguished military career. She retired April 30, 1972, after 20 years of service. Being a veteran was very important to Edie, and she always took the opportunity to educate young family members to respect and honor our flag, country and those who served. Edie was a 50-year member of both the American Legion Auxiliary and the Women’s Auxiliary.
After the service, Edie, who had played competitive softball and bowled for the WAC, continued to bowl with friends and took up golfing as well. Edie was the only women golfer at the Stevensville course for many years so she played with the men. She loved to show us the sand greens and later how the course improved over the years. These were her passions until health forced her to stop. Her favorite times were traveling with friends to bowling tournaments and her annual trips to Jackpot, Idaho, with friends.
After Edie’s “retirement” from the service, she spent the next 25 years working in the Stevensville school lunch room.
The Stevi Cafe will miss Edie’s daily visits for her 2-2-2. This is where Edie would take all her family anytime we visited and then fight over the bill. Any guesses on who won those fights?
Edie was preceded in death by her parents, Boyd and Ester Wark; four sisters, Anna Burke, Mae Wark, Helen Cushman and June Parks; and five brothers, John, Gene, Carl, Don and George. She is survived by one sister, Marie DeBour of Boardman, Ore.; one brother, Charles (Libby) Wark of Park City; and 25 nieces and nephews.
The family acknowledges with love and thankfulness Sharon Evans, who provided constant loving care to Aunt Edie, and to Peggy Smith for transportation and companionship. Edie and the whole family are forever in their debt.
Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 27, at Riverside cemetery. Pastor Sarah Beck will officiate. A reception will follow at the American Legion, 754 Middle Burnt Fork Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 94, Stevensville, or Aspen Hospice.
Larry Longley
Date of Death: Jun 21, 2013
Location of Service: Sunnyside cemetery - Stevensville
STEVENSVILLE – Larry Longley, 72, passed away Friday, June 21, 2013, at his home in Stevensville of natural causes. Larry was born March 4, 1941, in Missoula to Andrew and Marie Longley.
He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his sister, Andrea Hunstiger of Stevensville; and two nieces, Dawn Osborn and her husband Billy and their son Adam, and Shana Price and her husband Scott and their son Andrew, all of Dayton, Ohio.
A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, June 28, at the Sunnyside (Three Mile) cemetery.
Gail L. Nelson
Date of Death: Jun 14, 2013
Location of Service: Whitesitt Funeral Home - Stevensville
MISSOULA – In the early evening of Friday, June 14, 2013, Gail L. Nelson Sr. passed away at his home, surrounded by his family. He missed his 90th birthday by a mere three months. Gail was born to Charley and Catherine Nelson at Newman Grove, Neb., on Sept. 25, 1923. He was the youngest of seven children.
When he was a young child, his family moved from Nebraska to eastern Montana. He lived in Montana for a few years, then moved to Washington. In his early youth, he had a great work ethic and was a jack of all trades, working a variety of jobs. At age 18, he enlisted in the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 8, 1941. He was a member of America’s Greatest Generation, a veteran of World War II. He was as proud of that as he was of his family.
Gail married
the love of his life, Jeanne Fae Lunde, in Woodland, Wash., by his uncle’s bedside, on March 23, 1942. He and Jeanne moved from the Three Mile area near Stevensville to Woodland. He returned to Montana in 1956, settling in Missoula where he built the family home in which he lived, until his passing, a total of 55 years.
After the war, Gail was a dairyman, a logger, a mechanic and in his later years a senior companion for Missoula Aging Services. He loved camping with Jeanne in his beloved Dodge, rock hounding, gardening and discovering all the out-of-the-way places in Montana. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather who will be greatly missed by all.
He was preceded in death by his parents; six siblings, Myrtle, Lester, Leonard, Harvey, Ella Mae and Alden; three grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; daughter Arlene Urness; and his great-grandson, Derek Nelson.
Gail is survived by Jeanne, his wife of 71 years; his son-in-law, John Urness and grandsons Tom and Jim; his daughter, Nancy (David) Engebretson, grandsons Steve and Brad and granddaughter Leslie; his son, Gail (Barbara) Nelson Jr., grandsons Rick and Randy and granddaughter Rebecca; and his daughter, Rose Anne (Tom) Yelton and grandsons Cliff and Paul. He also is survived by 22 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchIldren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 20, at Whitesitt Funeral Home, 314 Church St., in Stevensville. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Interment with military honors will follow at Sunnyside cemetery in Stevensville.
A potluck reception in Missoula will follow the services at the American Legion Hall, 825 Ronan St.
