C6
Saturday, August 16, 2014
State and area
deaths
BILLINGS:
Scott A. Carlson, 57
Steven
“Steve-O”
Clare Anderson, 44
AREA DEATHS:
Butte: William S. Devener, 76
Cody: Leon Wright, 74
Gillette, Wyo.: Sue
Todd, 78
Glendive:
Margaret
Barbara Chrest, 99
Red Lodge: Nancy Jo
Shaffer Smith, 78
Sheridan, Wyo.: Larry Morrison, 70
Wibaux: Betty Ann
Whitaker, 88
FORMERLY OF:
Hobson and Zortman: Sheila N. Askins, 71,
Meridian, Idaho
Nancy Jo Shaffer
Smith
RED LODGE — Nancy
Jo Shaffer Smith, 78, of
Red Lodge, passed away
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2014,
as the result of a car accident outside of Livingston.
Cremation has taken
place and a memorial funeral service will be at 3
p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16,
at the Messiah Lutheran
Church.
Franzen-Davis Funeral
Home and Crematory is
assisting with arrangements.
1
OBITUARIES
Everette Flasted
Christina Maria Fears
ALZADA — Everette
Flasted, 79, of Alzada, died
on Wednesday, Aug. 13,
2014.
Funeral services will be
at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug.
19, at the Christian Life
Center in Belle Fourche, S.D.
Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels and Crematory Service
of Spearﬁsh is assisting with
arrangements.
Christina Maria Fears,
of Billings, passed away on
Sunday, Aug. 10 after a short
illness. She was 41 years of
age and had battled multiple
sclerosis for years. Christina
was born on May 1, 1973, to
Arend and Mieke Vos.
In 2014, she married
Travis Fears and together
they had one child, Tristan.
Christina’s life was full of
adventures which took her to
Michigan, Pittsburgh, Paris,
Boston and Billings,which
she called home. After graduating from Tufts University with a degree in language
arts, she had an interesting
career, including as a
social worker, clothing
store owner
and
most
recently, an
owner of Big
Sky Services,
CHRISTINA
a landscapFEARS
ing business.
Christina
is survived by her husband,
Travis; son, Tristan; father,
Arend; brother, Michael and
sister, Monique. A unique
soul, Christina was a very
caring and giving person,
enjoyed helping others and
will be greatly missed. A memorial service organized by
Michelotti-Sawyers Funeral
Home will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16.
Larry Morrison
SHERIDAN, Wyo. —
Larry Morrison, 70, of
Sheridan, passed away on
Friday, Aug. 15, 2014, at his
residence.
A Celebration of Life will
be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Kane Funeral Home.
Sheila N. Askins
MERIDIAN, Idaho —
Sheila N. Askins, 71, of Meridian, Idaho, and formerly
of Hobson and Zortman,
passed away Wednesday,
Aug. 13, 2014.
Arrangements are pending and under the care of
Creel Funeral Home in Lewistown.
Sue Todd
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Sue
Ernestine (Joyner) Todd, 78,
died Wednesday, Aug. 13,
2014, in Gillette.
Visitation was from 4 to 7
Gary L. Schara
Betty Ann Whitaker
p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at GilCIRCLE — Gary L. lette Memorial Chapel. SerWIBAUX — Betty Ann
Schara, 77, of Circle, vice will be 11 a.m. Satur- Whitaker, 88, of Wibaux,
passed away on Wednes- day, Aug. 16, at Family Life passed away Thursday, Aug.
day, Aug. 13, 2014, at the Church.
14, 2014, at Fallon Medical
McCone County Health
Complex in Baker.
Center.
A graveside service will
Margaret Barbara
Family will receive
be
at
3 p.m. (CDT) Monday,
Chrest
friends from 2 to 5 p.m. on
Aug. 18, at Page Cemetery
Monday, Aug. 18, at SteGLENDIVE — Margaret in Page, N.D. Stevenson Fuvenson & Sons Funeral Barbara Chrest, 99, of Glen- neral Home and Crematory
Home. Funeral service will dive, passed away on Friday, in Dickinson, N.D., is assistbe at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2014, at Glendive ing the family.
Aug. 19, at First Lutheran Medical Center.
Church. Interment will
Cremation has taken
Leon R. Wright
follow at Riverview Cem- place, and a private famCODY, Wyo. — Leon R.
etery.
ily memorial service will be
held on a later date at Silha Wright took his last ride on
Funeral Home with inter- his beloved Razor into the
CREMATION &
ment in the Dawson County sunrise August 8, 2014. He
FUNERAL
had been battling cancer.
Cemetery.
GALLERY
Leon was born in Blue
Mound, Kan. on Oct. 21,
Cremation & Burial Society of Montana
How to submit
29 8 St. W. • Billings • 254-2414
1939, to Raymond (Slim)
www.cfgbillings.com
and Lois Wright. He grew
Absaroka Beartooth Columbarium
obituaries
up in Cody and as a young
For obituary information,
HOFFMAN — Burt.
man he worked as pack trip
call 406-657-1241 or 800Celebration of life Saturhand, ranch hand and even
543-2505. The deadline is 3
day at Highlands County
did some rodeo riding. After
p.m. for next day publication.
Club 5 p.m.(16)
high school, Leon married
Obituaries can be
Patricia Ulmer. Together
e-mailed to obits@bilExclusive Provider
they had three children,
Cremation with Confidence Guarantee
lingsgazette.com, mailed
Michele, Shawn, and Kelly.
to Obituary Dept., Billings
Leon worked construction
Gazette, PO Box 36300,
in Colorado, Wyoming, and
Billings, MT 59107, faxed to
Montana; many a highway
406-657-1208 or brought
was worked on by Leon in
to the Billings Gazette, 401
those years. Leon and PaN. Broadway, after 1 p.m.
tricia later divorced. At that
weekdays.
time, Leon fulﬁlled one of
All obituaries require
his dreams and went north to
verification from a funeral
and Crematory
Alaska to work on the Great
Serving Billings Area for 110 Years
home, so please include the
Alaskan Pipeline.
Complete Funeral, Crematory
funeral home name and
Returning
to
Cody,
and Cemetery Pre-Arrangements
phone number.
with Cremation Niches, Lawn Crypts
Leon married Margaret
and Mausoleum.
O’Mahoney and they had one
Reception Facilities Available
TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
child, Van. At that time, Leon
IN BILLINGS
fulﬁlled another dream — he
www.smithfuneralchapels.com
became the owner of his own
SMITH WEST CHAPEL
excavating company, Wright
Adjacent to
Excavation. Everyone always
Terrace Gardens Cemetery
304 34TH ST. W
245-6427
knew they could call Leon to
Mortuary and Crematory help them bury a horse, dig a
4 Blocks N. of Central on 34th St. W.
Serving All Faiths
grave, or even clear a driveWith Dignity since 1956
MITCHELL — Presway. All who knew him also
Here for you
ton H., 67, Billings.
knew that he could spin a tale
Before, During and After Services
Funeral services 10 a.m.
with the best of them. Leon
1001 Alderson Ave.
Saturday, Aug. 16, at the
and Maggie later divorced.
406-252-3417
Billings LDS Belvedere
Leon married Irene
FEARS — Christina
Stake Center. Interment
(Butch) Rodgers in 1994. He
Maria, 41, of Billings.
in Pleasantview Cemetery
loved camping and riding
Memorial service 2 p.m.
in Ballantine. Viewing
his 4-wheelers and Razor.
Saturday, at Michelotti3-8 p.m. Friday at Smith
He also loved the Cody area
Sawyers.(16)
West Chapel and prior to
and was always telling his
KAIN — Lawrence
services at the church on
children about the local his(Larry) T., 85, of Billings.
Saturday.(16)
tory. Leon retired and started
Memorial service 11 a.m.
many projects. He reﬁnished
SMITH DOWNTOWN CHAPEL
Monday, Michelotti-Saw- sheep wagons, surpassing
925 S. 27th
245-6427
yers Mortuary. Memoritheir former glory. He also
PEASE — Robert
als, Kain Family Memobecame extremely active in
Guy “Thomas,” 60, of
rial Scholarship Fund;
his woodworking. He creatColumbus. Cremation.
Montana State Univered so many beautiful shelves,
Memorial service 1:30
sity Foundation; P.O. Box
step stools, Norweigan
p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at
172750; Bozeman, MT
teines, wine boxes, the list is
Fireman’s Point, Colum59717-2750.(18)
endless and his work was exbus, MT.(17)
EVENSEN — Nadine
ceptional.
CARLSON — Scott
Lucille, 73, of Billings.
Survivors include his
Allan, 57, of Billings. CreMemorial service 11
children, Michele (Mark)
mation. Memorial service
a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21,
Wiherski
of
Missoula,
10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug.
Michelotti-Sawyers.(21)
Shawn Wright, of Seattle,
MATHESON — Rose
20, at the Billings West
Kelly Wright, of Pueblo,
Marie, 95, of Billings.
High School Auditorium,
and Van (Bobbie) Wright, of
Funeral service 2 p.m.
located at 2201 Saint
Sheridan; granddaughter,
Friday, The Church of
John’s Avenue.(20)
Chelsea Wiherski; grandson,
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Aayden Rodgers; brothers,
SMITH FUNERAL CHAPEL
Saints, 2929 Belvedere.
Bill (Linda) Wright, Mark
LAUREL
Interment, Yellowstone
(Jeanine) Wright and sister,
315 E. 3rd.
628-6858
Valley Memorial Park.(22) Sandy (Earl) Nichole.
SMITH OLCOTT CHAPEL
He was preceded in death
RED LODGE
by both parents; his aunt,
201 N. Broadway
446-1121
Maxine Jernberg; brother,
SMITH FUNERALCHAPEL
Duane Wright; nephew,
COLUMBUS
Raymond Wright; and wife,
35 N. Diamond St.
628-6858
www.michelottisawyers.com
Irene Wright.
The family would like to
extend heartfelt thanks to
the wonderful staff at Spirit
Mountain Hospice for the
wonderful care they took
10 Yellowstone Ave. — 406-248-8807
with Leon during his stay
ANDERSON — Steven “Steve-O” Clare, 44, of
there.
Billings. Funeral Service at Dahl Funeral Chapel on
In lieu of ﬂowers, please
Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 3 p.m.(20)
make donations to the Dude
GANTZ — Sawyer, infant son of Jennifer Gantz, of
Ranch Museum in Cody or
Ryegate. Graveside services will be held on Thursday,
Cody Meals on Wheels
Aug. 21 at 10 a.m. in Ryegate Cemetery. (21)
There will be a celebration
of Leon’s life at a later date.
th
Isabel Royer
LEWISTOWN — Isabel “Liz” Marie (Garnham)
Royer,
75,
passed away
peacefully at
St. Vincent’s
Hospital on
Wed nesday, Aug. 13,
2014, due to
many health ISABEL ROYER
c o m p l i c ations
and
gave a hard ﬁght recovering
from lung cancer surgery.
Liz’s family will attend
Mass at St. Leo’s Catholic
Church, in Lewistown at 5
p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16. Afterwards, there will be a time
of fellowship in the Mandatum Commons. A family
funeral will be held at a later
date in Texas.
Liz’s family would like to
say a special thank you to all
the caregivers who helped
their mother over the years
at Central Montana Medical Center, St. Vincent’s
Hospital ICU, Advance Care
(LTAC) Hospital, as well as
all the friends who loved and
cherished Isabel.
Family and friends are invited to express condolences
online at www.creelfuneralhome.com. Cremation arrangements are under the
care of Creel Funeral Home.
Nikki C. Dillon
CROW AGENCY — Nikki Casseadre Dillon-Ware,
28, of Crow Agency, passed
way of injuries sustained
in an auto accident Aug. 12,
2014, east of Pryor.
Rosary will be recited at
4 p.m. Sunday in the Bul-
lis Funeral Chapel. Funeral
mass will be celebrated at
10 a.m. Monday in the Crow
Agency St. Dennis Catholic Church. Interment will
be held in the Crow Agency
Cemetery. Bullis Mortuary
is assisting the family.
Eddie Bruha
BUFFALO, S.D. — Funeral Mass for Eddie Bruha,
86, of Buffalo, S.D., formerly of Baker, will be 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, at
St. John’s Catholic Church in
Baker with Father Thomas
Tobin celebrating. Burial will
follow in Bonnievale Cemetery.
Visitation
for Eddie will
be from 3 to
9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18,
at Stevenson Funeral
Home, Baker,
with a rosary
and vigil ser- EDDIE BRUHA
vice
being
held at 7 p.m.
Eddie passed away Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, doing what
he loved most — ranch work
near Buffalo.
Edmond Charles Bruha
was born Oct. 25, 1927, to
Theodore and Barbara (Pergler) Bruha on the family
ranch northeast of Baker. Eddie grew up and attended the
O’Donnell country school
through the eighth grade.
After schooling he stayed
home to help his father as
well as many of the neighbors. While growing up, he
began breaking horses and
continued to work on the
ranch. Eddie met a teacher
by the name of Regina Stuart, and they were married on
Oct. 20, 1956, in Ekalaka. Ed
always stated that Grandpa
Stuart made him milk 12 or
more cows before a date. To
this union four children were
born: Phil, Connie, Tom and
Don. For the next 22 years,
they ranched and raised their
family north of Baker until
the fall of 1977 when Ed and
Regina moved into town. In
April of 1980, they moved
to Buffalo to manage the
Ludlow Grazing Associa-
tion which he managed and
worked until the time of his
death.
Eddie enjoyed dancing,
especially waltzing, and listening to old-time music
played by the Eastern Montana Fiddlers. He enjoyed
watching many rodeos. Eddie loved watching his children and grandchildren in
their various activities and
was very proud of all of their
accomplishments. He loved
family gatherings and socializing with friends and
neighbors. Ed loved to ride
a good traveling horse, enjoyed his cow dogs, read a
variety of books and watched
John Wayne and Gary Cooper movies. Eddie was a
hard worker and enjoyed the
spring work, such as calving, brandings and listening
for the ﬁrst meadowlarks. Ed
will be remembered by his big
smile and laugh.
Eddie is survived by his
wife, Regina; children, Phil
(Lona) Bruha, of Dillon; Connie Bruha-Smith, of Buffalo,
S.D.; Tom (Traci) Bruha, of
Baker; Don (Tammy) Bruha,
of Buffalo, S.D.; grandchildren, Bobby (Kerri) Bruha,
Clay (Kelsey) Bruha, Cole
Bruha, Cameo Bruha, Tyler
Bruha, Travis Bruha, Sterling
Brown, Kordell Bruha; greatgrandchild, Khyra Bruha; Jay
(Belinda) Smith, Ryan (Lindsey) Smith, Mike (Melissa)
Smith, numerous nieces
and nephews; sisters, Lillian (Tom) Burns, of Denton,
and Theresa (Bill) Schneider,
of Libby; and sister-in-law,
Laura Bruha, of Baker.
Eddie was preceded in
death by his parents; sisters,
Helen, Marie and Barb; and
brother, Teddy.
Remembrances
and
condolences may be shared
with the family at www.
stevensonfuneralhome.com.
Scott A. Carlson
Scott A. Carlson, 57, a
beloved teacher, basketball
and tennis coach, died unexpectedly in his home Sunday,
Aug. 10, 2014.
His funeral will be 10
a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, in
the Billings West High Auditorium with a reception
to follow in
the school’s
cafeteria. In
lieu of ﬂowers, the family asks that
memorials be
made to West
High Boys
SCOTT
BasketballCARLSON
Scott Carlson
Memorial,
Billings West High School,
2201 St. Johns Ave, Billings,
MT 59102.
Scott loved being a high
school social studies teacher where he taught mostly
American History and Psychology. He treasured the
relationships he made with
his students and colleagues
and tried to make a difference
every day in the classroom,
in the hallways, and beyond.
Scott’s athletic accomplishes
are well documented and he
dedicated much of his life
to the basketball court. He
starred on the ﬂoor as a Belt
Valley High School Husky
and continued his playing
career as a Battlin’ Bear for
Rocky Mountain College
during the late 70s. He was
very proud to be part of the
ﬁrst class of his high school’s
Hall of Fame.
Scott’s 31 year coaching
career is even more decorated. He led the Simms Lady
Tigers to the Class B state title
in 1983, guided the Skyview
Lady Falcons to the school’s
ﬁrst AA win in 1989, and
was part of three AA boys
basketball championships at
Billings West. As the junior
varsity coach, the Golden
Bears won 106 consecutive
games over a ﬁve year period
from 2004-2010. Scott also
coached the boys tennis team
at Billings West and guided
them to two state championships. Scott just recently was
hired as an assistant women’s
basketball coach at Rocky
Mountain College and felt
blessed to return to his almamater for the next chapter in
his coaching career.
Scott enjoyed riding his
Harley and was seen often
shopping and trying all of the
samples at Costco. Nothing
brought a smile to his face
more than camping and being on his boat at Seeley Lake
with his family and friends.
Scott was a devoted father
and a wonderful grandpa to
Chloe and Theodore.
Scott was born in
Great Falls, on March 15,
1957, to parents David and
Shelmerdene Carlson. He
was the youngest of three
children and his family
meant the world to him. He
would travel back to Belt often to taste his mom’s pigsin-a blanket and cherry pie,
work for his close friend, Phil
Kleffner, and play “31” with
his siblings, kids and nephews.
He is survived and sorely
missed by his father, David of
Belt; his brother, David (Karen) Carlson and sister Karen
(Rick) Pepos, both of Sand
Coulee; his daughter Hilary
(Truman) Neprud from Billings; his sons Jeremy (Bekah)
Carlson and Tyler Carlson
from Billings; his grandchildren Chloe Neprud and Theodore Carlson; his nephews
Cory Carlson, Kyle Carlson,
Zane (Jessica) Pepos, Chase
Pepos, and Spencer Pepos all
of Montana. He is preceded in
death by his beloved mother,
Shelmerdene of Belt.
Scott, you will never be
forgotten. Go Bears!
William S. Devener
WHITEHALL — The
good Lord called William
(Bill) Devener home on Aug.
12, 2014, while surrounded
by his family at St. James
Hospital in Butte.
Born in Enderlin, N.D. on
February 7, 1938, to his parents George and Vina.
B i l l’s
path led him
to
Custer,
where
he
g raduated
high school
and
made
several lifelong friends.
WILLIAM
Bill worked
DEVENER
in the agricu ltu ra l
industry all of his life. He
was a skilled leather crafter,
poet, and avid horseman.
He was and always will be a
cowboy.
Bill married Phyllis Tillman in 1957 and together
they had four children. He
enlisted in the U.S. Army in
1962 and was honorably discharged in 1968.
He was preceded in death
by his wife Phyllis and is
survived by his children,
Mitch, Clay (Mary Jo), Cameron and Amy Lewis (Keifer); daughter-in-law, Karen
Huff; sister, Delores Erickson; grandchildren, Tom,
Jennifer and Joe (Alyssa) Devener and Colt Lewis; and,
two great-grandchildren.
We Deveners never had
much, but he gave us all that
he had. We know he and his
favorite horse, Rusty, are
long trotting the big pasture
now and are sure he knows
the way home.
In lieu of ﬂowers, please
make donations to the VA
VS (Veterans Administration Volunteer Services) In
Memory of Bill Devener at
PO Box 167, Fort Harrison,
MT 59636.
Steven ‘Steve-O’ Clare
Anderson
Steve-O was born on
January 13, 1970, to Larry and Shirley Anderson
of Billings. He came out
ready to run, and he never
stopped! He loved kids,
animals, girls and sports.
He played Little League
baseball through his thirteenth year, and was nominated
by
his coaches
three times
for the All
Star team.
He
also
played Little
Guy football, which
STEVE-O
event u a l ly
ANDERSON
led to the
varsity team
all three years at Skyview
High School. He graduated
from Skyview with its ﬁ rst
graduating class in 1988.
Go Falcons!
Steven set off after high
school on many adventures, and ﬁ nally landed
in the Virgin Islands,
where he spent 10 happy
years with his faithful island dog, Simba. Steve-O
was loved and admired by
many people and his family throughout his life.
He was known as a kind,
generous, thoughtful, loving, gentle man, and many
felt privileged to call him
friend. He was truly one of
the good ones.
After contracting diabetes at the age of 16, he had
continuing and worsening
health problems which led
to his return to Billings and
his family in September
2011. Sadly, on August 11,
Steven succumbed to complications of the disease
that he had fought bravely
for 28 years. Besides his
parents, he leaves behind
a brother, Mike Anderson,
with his wife, Lynda and
his nephews, Joseph and
Joshua, and a sister, Kim
Ragland, with her husband, Mark and nephew,
Samuel and niece, Sylvia,
as well as numerous loving
aunts, uncles and cousins. He also leaves behind
many “adopted” nieces
and nephews who he loved
to spend time with. The
overwhelming Facebook
response to Steven’s passing has brought the family
much comfort.
Memorial services will
be held at 3 p.m. at Dahl
Funeral Chapel in Billings
on Wednesday, Aug. 20. In
lieu of ﬂowers, donations
can be made to the American Diabetes Association.
“God saw you getting
tired and a cure was not
to be, So He put His arms
around you and whispered
“Come to Me.”
Rest in peace beloved
son, brother, friend.
Arrangements are in the
care of the staff at Dahl Funeral Chapel, and memories may be shared at www.
dahlfuneralchapel.com