Miscellaneous Custer County, Montana obits:
Jennifer and Hayley Martin
Jennifer and Hayley Martin of Arlington, Texas, died suddenly Saturday, May 27, 2006, in Arlington Medical Center.
Hayley was born May 27, 2006, in Arlington Medical Center.
Jennifer “Jenny” Martin was born April 16, 1979, in Bozeman.
Mrs. Martin will be remembered for her strength, her faith, and her love; and all those who knew her cherished both her and Hayley.
Their survivors include husband and father, Brian Martin; Mrs. Martin’s parents and Hayley’s grandparents, Cheryl and Steve Harris of Ponca City, Okla.; Mrs. Martin’s mother-in-law and Hayley’s grandmother, Melinda McGrath of Mesquite, Texas; Mrs. Martin’s sisters and Hayley’s aunts, Amy, Andra and Lisa Harris; Mrs. Martin’s brother-in-law and Hayley’s uncle, Kevin Martin; Hayley’s great-grandmothers, Corma Edwardes and Jean Martin; Mrs. Martin’s grandparents and Hayley’s great-grandparents, Marilyn and Bob Dickson of Miles City, Clare and Jack Doran; Mrs. Martin’s great-grandmother and Hayley’s great-great-grandmother, Gladys Christopherson; and numerous aunts and uncles.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, 2006, at First Baptist Church of Arlington, 300 S. Center St., Arlington, Texas 76010. Burial will be in Moore Memorial Gardens.
Arrangements are under the direction of Arlington Funeral Home, 1221 E. Division St., Arlington, Texas 76011, phone 1-817-548-1791.
Friends may view and sign the guestbook at www.star-telegram.com/obituaries.
Vava Watts
Memorial services for Vava Watts, 85, of Miles City were held Monday morning, May 29, 2006, at the chapel of Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.
Mrs. Watts died Friday, May 26, 2006, at the Holy Rosary Extended Care Facility in Miles City.
She was born on Jan. 31, 1921, in Bradley, S.D., the daughter of Cecil and Inga Fisk.
On Aug. 17, 1940, she and Thomas Watts were united in marriage. To this union four children were born, Vernon, Roger, Donna and Kathy.
Mr. and Mrs. Watts moved from South Dakota to Montana in 1949 where they farmed. In 1958, they moved to Miles City, where they resided until moving to Renton, Wash., in 1972.
After Mr. Watts died in October 1993, Mrs. Watts continued to live in Renton until August 2000 when she came back to Miles City where she had resided since at the Friendship Villa Care Center.
Her survivors include her four children, Vernon (Wilma) of Stafford, Va., Roger of Laurel, Donna (Skip) Reynolds of Kent, Wash., and Kathy (Bob) Chapweske of Miles City; her nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Should friends wish, condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.stevensonandsons.com.
Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the Holy Rosary Hospice or to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
George Richardson
Funeral services for George Richardson, 84, of Hammond, were Tuesday afternoon, May 30, 2006, at Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Broadus. Internment followed in the Valley View Cemetery in Broadus.
Mr. Richardson died Friday, May 26, 2006, at the Belle Fourche Health Care Center in Belle Fourche, S.D.
He was born on Oct. 17, 1921, east of Hammond on Camp Creek at his grandparents’ road house, the son of Aaron and Esther Bruce Richardson. Mr. Richardson attended country schools south of Hammond.
In 1942 he enlisted in the United States Army. After his honorable discharge he returned to the ranch at Hammond where he became partners with his father.
He and Louse Dinstel were married on Nov. 17, 1957, in Broadus at the St. David’s Catholic Church. They bought the ranch in the 1960s. In 1963, their daughter, Kathleen Louise, was born. They continued to operate the ranch until the present.
Mr. Richardson was a great fencer and enjoyed fixing fence. He was a very dedicated volunteer fire fighter, an avid collector of arrowheads, enjoyed hunting and going to rodeos. He also enjoyed playing the harmonica in his younger days and played along with his mother at country dances. He loved to visit and share all the old stories of people and places around the area.
His survivors include his wife, Louise Richardson of Hammond; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Kathleen Louise in 1993; his brother, Harold; and a sister, Jeanne Craft.
Condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.stevensonandsons.com.
Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Reuben Paul Schroeber
Reuben Paul Schroeber, 84, of Miles City, died Thursday, May 25, 2006.
Mr. Schroeber was born in Alfred, N,D,m on Jan. 16, 1922, the third child of seven children born to Emil Paul Schroeber and Christine Henne Schroeber. The family moved to Montana in 1937 and farmed at Shepherd.
He met and married Alice Jerke on Dec. 29, 1947. They farmed in Shepherd until 1950, then moved to a Buffalo Rapids Unit near Terry to farm and operate a feedlot. In May of 1989, they retired and moved to Miles City.
Mr. Schroeber was on the Terry School Board, the FHA Board and the Prairie County Hospital Board, among others. He was a past president of the Miles City Club.
His survivors include his wife, Alice and five children, Anita (Stan) Lewis of Kingston, Wash., Joy (Mark) Yoakam of Sidney, Neb., Lew (Karla) Schroeber and Lorette (Humayun) Khan, all of Overland Park, Kan., and Kari (Arman) Miller of Maple Hill, Kan.; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren;
Survivors also include two sisters, Lorraine Jerke of Miles City and Clara Skeen of Medford, Ore.
He was preceded in death by four brothers, Ernest of Shepherd, Clarence of Alfred, N.D., Archie of Glendive and Kermit of Great Falls.
Funeral services will be Monday, May 29, 2006, at 11 a.m. at Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Interment will be held in the Custer County Cemetery.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com.
Memorials may be made to the Holy Rosary Home Health; 2600 Wilson St., Miles City, MT 59301 or a memorial of choice.
Roy William Higgins
Roy William Higgins, age 76 of Townsend, Montana died peacefully at St. Peter’s Hospital on Tuesday evening, May 23, 2006.
Roy was born in Ismay, Montana on Feb, 18, 1930 to John and Jesse Higgins. He graduated in Ismay High School in 1949.
Roy served in the US Army from from 1951 to 1953. Roy married Albina Vetter on June 18, 1955 and had three children.
Roy was preceded in death by his parents, six brothers and two sisters. Survivors include his Wife, Albina; Children, Wade (Carole) Higgins of Helena, MT; Doug (Jeanette) Higgins of Casper, WY and Dianna Jenks of Townsend, MT; Grandchildren, Andre’a (Spiridon) Tsitsilianos, Matthew, Christina, Bryon, Lorissa, Scott and Trevor; Brother Virgil Higgins of Ekalaka, MT; Sisters, Joyce Schmidt of Laurel, MT and Pearl Lindstrand of Butte, MT.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, May 26, 2006 from the Holy Cross Parish in Townsend. Cremation will follow. Interment of cremated remains will be held at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Miles City, MT, Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 3 p.m. with Military Graveside Honors.
Memorials may be made in Roy’s name to Donor’s choice. Local arrangements have been entrusted to Hagler-Anderson Funeral Home in Helena.
Charleen Geiger
Charleen L. Geiger, 89, of Glendive, passed away Monday, may 22, 2006 in Ronan of complication from a stroke.
Charleen was born Oct. 11, 1916, in Red Lodge, MT to Elizabeth Ray Stumpf and Charles Stumpf, moving to Seattle two years later until the death of her father at age four when she moved with her sister, June, to live with an aunt and uncle on a produce farm in Montana.
Charleen was married in 1934 to Wayne Monte in Miles City living there until 1948 when they moved to Glendive. They later divorced.
Oct. 11, 1955, she married the love of her life, John, and spent the next 43 years with him until John’s passing in February 1999. The only regret she ever had was she was not able to spend more time with him on this earth. Charleen loved her family and their families as they held a special place in her heart.
Charleen enjoyed her involvement with the Moose Lodge in Glendive becoming a senior Regent with the Women of the Moose and was a lifetime member. John and Charleen cooked many meals for various functions and activities working most weekends. She also had a wonderful talent for baking cakes for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations which she could count in the hundreds. She was a lifetime member of the VFW Auxiliary. She loved knitting, sewing, crocheting, gardening, cooking and taking care of the wild birds in her yard until macular degeneration left her unable to do the close work.
Preceding Charleen were her beloved husband, John and daughter, Virginia Middleton of Portland, OR, Elizabeth Stumpf Eaton and LL Eaton, Charleen’s mother and step-father of Richland, WA, her father Charles Stumpf, sister June Carter of Illinois and half-sisters Alice Ferch of Billings and Ormarie Dunn of California and half-brother “Bob” Eaton of Trout Creek, MT, brothers-in-law, Walt, Pete, and Pius Geiger, their wives Libby, Earleen and June Geiger, sisters-in-law Katherine Goodchild and Pauline Westermeyer, their husbands Clayton and “Westy.”
Surviving are two sons and their wives, Alan and Carol Monte of Pablo, MT, and Gary and Eva Monte of Miles City, MT, sister-in-law Veronica Wetsch of Bozeman, MT, and all of Charleen’s dearly beloved extended family.
Visitation from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Rosary following at 7 p.m. at the sacred Heart Church in Glendive, MT Friday the 26th. Funeral mass on Saturday at 10 a.m. the 27th at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial will follow at the Dawson County Cemetery. Lunch will be served following graveside services in the basement of the Church.
Memorials for the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, P.O. Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061-0515.
