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William D. "Bill" Ridenour
William D. "Bill" Ridenour, 67, of Colstrip, formerly of Broadus, died Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005, in the Deaconess Billings Hospital following a long illness.
Mr. Ridenour was born Sept. 5, 1937, in Broadus, the son of Clark W. and Nellie McBride Ridenour. He was raised in the Sonnett area where he attended country school until attending high school in Broadus as well as St. Labre in Ashland.
Following his schooling, Mr. Ridenour started working in the oil fields as a construction worker. He later worked for the Morning Star Construction until owning and operating his own mechanic shop.
Mr. Ridenour and Myrtle Bidwell were married in Broadus.
He enjoyed fishing, anything to do with John Wayne or Louis L'Amour. He especially loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as the neighborhood children. He always had extra ice cream treats for anyone who stopped by.
His survivors include his wife, Myrtle of Colstrip; three sons, Rick D. Ridenour, and his wife, Bonnie, of Billings, William "Leroy" Ridenour of Colstrip and Rocky Austin and Lisa of Trono, Calif.; three daughters, Sandra Fettig, and her husband, Dean, of Billings, Kathleen "Kathy" Moser and Erik of Forsyth and Cassie Eldridge of Cheyenne, Wyo.; 18 grandchildren, Barry, Angie, Jennifer, Amy, Sarah, Travis, Cyrilla, Bryan, Zach, Jessica, Ricky, Verbena, Christian, Cadence, Connor, Kathleen, Kenny and Katie; and two great-grandchildren.
Survivors also include his additional family, Stacy Eve and Kelly Goodhart, and their children, Shea and Shelby Eve and McKenzie Goodhart; two sisters, Violet and Rosalie; two sisters-in-law, Helen Ridenour and Patsy Ridenour; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Harold, Allen and Jack; two sisters, June and Blanch; and one sister-in-law, Joanne.
Funeral services will be Friday, Sept. 2, 2005, at 1 p.m. in the chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Broadus.
Stevensons and Sons Funeral Home of Forsyth and Broadus are in charge of the arrangements.
Condolences may be sent to the Ridenour family at: www.stevensonandsons.com.
George C. Moe
George C. Moe, 74, of Miles City, formerly of Glendive, died Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005, at the Holy Rosary Healthcare Extended Care Facility in Miles City.
Mr. Moe was born on Jan. 7, 1931, in Fargo, N.D., the son of Arthur L. and Eva Barth Moe.
He entered the United States Army in February of 1951 and served during the Korean War. Mr. Moe was honorably discharged in August 1964.
He worked as a truck driver for Meyer Construction Company.
His survivors include his sister, Marlene Greff, and her husband, Valentine, of Regent, N.D.; and his brother, David Moe of Bismarck, N.D.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Gerald Moe.
No services are planned at this time.
Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive is entrusted with arrangements.
Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com.
Roberta L. Ellerd (Lee)
February 3, 1928 August 27, 2005
Roberta was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois to Robert and Opal Lee (Shelton). She was raised in Nashville Tennessee after her father remarried Eleanor (Schutt).
Roberta attended public schools in Nashville graduating from high school in 1948.
Following high school Roberta worked in a pediatrician's office for a short time and then relocated back to Kankakee, Illinois and took employment at the state hospital.
She met and married Arthur A. Ellerd in 1952. In 1962 they relocated and made their home in Miles City, Montana. Following Arthur's death in 1971 she went to work at Pine Hills School for boys as a teacher's aid. She enjoyed her work and her students loved her, begging her not to retire in 1972 as they told her "you're too young to retire".
Following retirement Roberta mostly remained at home with her dog Honey and volunteering her time at the First Baptist Church until failing heath forced her to be relocated to Billings, Montana in 2002.
Roberta was preceded in death by her husband Arthur Ellerd; father, Robert Lee; mother Opal Lee (Shelton); stepmother Eleanor Lee (Schutt); brother Charles (Edward) Lee; half brother, Robert (Bobby) Lee.
She is survived by half sister Philina Taylor (Lee); half brother Frank (Bobby) Lee; son Cy Ellerd (Denise); grandson Zadoc Ellerd.
Funeral services will be celebrated at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1603 St. Andrews Dr., Billings, Montana 59105 at 10:30 A.M. Thursday, September 1, 2005. A luncheon will follow the service. Interment will be held at Sunset Hills in Bozeman Montana Thursday afternoon.
Memorial donations may be made to Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1603 St. Andrews Dr., Billings, Montana 59105; First Baptist Church, 900 Palmer St. Miles City, Montana 59301; Lincoln Lane Assisted Living, 659 Lincoln Lane Billings, Montana 59105; or to the charity of your choice.
Merle Gordon Ballard
Merle Gordon Ballard, 66, of Forsyth died at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005, at Holy Rosary Healthcare after a very brief illness.
He was born on Oct. 29, 1938, to Lyle and Ethel Crawley Mitchell Ballard. He was born in Forsyth in the house next door to the home he spent the last many years of his life.
Mr. Ballard lost his right arm when he was 10 years old, but he learned how to swim, he broke horses, he drove semis, he roped calves and cows, he rode a motorcycle and an ATV and he was a drover in the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive in 1989. Many people were not aware that Mr. Ballard was an amputee.
He grew up in and around the Vananda area, attending school there until the family moved to a ranch on Sarpy Creek in 1948. He attended the Hysham School and graduated from Hysham High School in 1958. Mr. Ballard played on the football team while in school.
He spent his life as a real cowboy. He worked on his folk's ranch, was the District Rider for several years and he even did a couple of stints on dude ranches in the west. He ranched on Sarpy Creek and was ranching at Vananda at the time of his death.
Mr. Ballard and Barbara Bassett were married in 1967 and to this union, one daughter, Peggy was born. The couple later divorced.
As Mr. Ballard got a little older (and wiser ), he decided he didn't want to be bucked off horses anymore so he slacked off on the riding. He continued to ride his ATV but more slowly than he used to.
His survivors include his daughter, Peggy Hillman from Hermosa, S.D.; two grandchildren, Casey and Lacey Styer; his step-grandchildren, Branden Styer of Phoenix, Ariz., and Brooke Styer of Roy; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Bob and Arlene Mitchell from Forsyth and Titusville, Fla., Gary and Sue Ballard of Sarpy Creek, Hysham; and his cousins, Floyd and Rose Ballard of Ocklawaha, Fla., Deryl Crawley of Helena and Cal Crawley of Colorado.
He was preceded in death by his father, Lyle Ballard, in 1976; his mother, Ethel Ballard in 1992; and a baby brother, Vernon.
Funeral Service will be held Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth.
