OBITUARIES How to submit obituaries

B4
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
COLUMBUS — Alice G.
BILLINGS:
Vandersnick, 97, died peaceMike Kannegiesser, 58
fully at Beartooth CommuLea A. Koerner, 88
Tina Marie Lindenberg, nity Healthcare in Columbus
March 17, 2014. She died as
48
she lived, always showing
AREA DEATHS:
Bozeman: Lyndly Nel- love toward others, full of
gentle grace and kindness,
son, 88
Buffalo, Wyo.: Cleo and with all the humor she
could muster as she soldiered
Clabaugh, 95
Columbus:
Alice through each year. Her family learned the values of hard
Vandersnick, 97
Gillette, Wyo.: Charles work, devotion to each other,
and patience with hardship.
Oliver Jossens, 72
Glendive: David Paul Her daughters and son
Egeness, 55
Lewistown: Leo “Dale” i n h e r i t e d
her
green
Goodan, 84
Malta: Lloyd Irwin Lef- thumb. Her
dahl, 91; Henry David Yag- family was
by her side
er, 77
she
Missoula: Erwin C. By- when
died.
rnes, 85
ALICE
Alice was
Selfridge, N.D.: Gorborn to John VANDERSNICK
don Red Tomahawk, 35
and Bertha
FORMERLY OF:
Sheridan,
Wyo.: Elam in Gallatin Gateway on
George John Gosch, 95, March 15, 1917. She was one of
a family of five girls growing
Arizona
up during the Great DepresLloyd Irwin Lefdahl sion, raised to care for chickens, render hogs, grow nearly
MALTA — Lloyd Irwin everything they ate, and sew
Lefdahl, 91, of Malta, died their undergarments from
Sunday, March 16, 2014, at flour sack cloth. All have
Country Home of natural lived into their 90s.
causes.
She graduated from AbService will be at 11 sarokee High School. She
a.m. Friday, March 21, at worked while raising three
Malta Lutheran Church. girls and one boy, working a
Interment will be at Malta day shift at the Von Ragsdale
Cemetery. Bell Mortuary Store, and evening shifts
in Glasgow is assisting with waitressing at the Hamburgarrangements.
er Hut and the Green Derby.
and Crematory
Complete Funeral, Crematory
and Cemetery Pre-Arrangements
with Cremation Niches, Lawn Crypts
and Mausoleum.
Reception Facilities Available
TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
IN BILLINGS
www.smithfuneralchapels.com
SMITH WEST CHAPEL
Adjacent to
Terrace Gardens Cemetery
304 34TH ST. W
245-6427
4 Blocks N. of Central on 34th St. W.
MAYNARD — Henry
“Hank” C., 80, of Billings. Cremation has taken
place. A memorial service
will be 11 a.m. Thurs.,
March 20, at the First Alliance Church; 1835 Central
Ave.(3/20)
SMITH FUNERAL CHAPEL
LAUREL
315 E. 3rd.
628-6858
SMITH OLCOTT CHAPEL
RED LODGE
201 N. Broadway
446-1121
LOCKET — Jerry, 67,
of Red Lodge. Memorial
gathering of family and
friends from 4 to 6 p.m.
Friday, March 21 at the
Rocky Fork Inn, 716 South
Broadway in Red Lodge.
(3/21)
SMITH FUNERALCHAPEL
COLUMBUS
35 N. Diamond St.
628-6858
Lyndly Nelson
MISSOULA — Erwin C.
Byrnes, 85, of Missoula, died
Monday, March 17, 2014, at the
family residence in Missoula.
Celebration of life will be
at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March
22, at Doubletree Edgewater.
Brothers Mortuary and Crematory is assisting the family
with cremation services.
BOZEMAN — On March
31, 1925, the Lord blessed Merl
and Effie Nelson with a precious son, Lyndly Emanuel
Nelson. Lyndly met his Lord
and Savior
on
March
15, 2014. He
died peacefully with his
daughters by
his side.
Lyndly
was born in
LYNDLY
Flaxville. He
NELSON
was proud to
have grown
up and attended school on the
Fort Peck Indian Reservation
in Poplar. As a World War
II Navy veteran, he served
on the USS Wayne. His ship
was involved in seven major battles in the Pacific. He
was a graduate of Northern
Montana College. On May
25, 1946, he married Betty
Poling and they enjoyed a
loving marriage for 56 years.
He retired from a career in
the insurance business. As
a lifelong Presbyterian, he
served for years as an usher/
greeter. He was a Shriner and
50-plus-year member of the
Masonic Lodge. Until recently, Lyndly thoroughly enjoyed
10 years as a volunteer at Fort
Harrison Veterans Hospital.
He and Betty enjoyed traveling and visiting family and
friends. Lyndly loved the outdoors and was always ready
for a drive to look the country
over or simply to sit in the sun
and watch the animals and
birds. He was an avid hunter,
fisherman and golfer. His
family was the most important part of his life. He always
said he had, “the best family in the world!” Lyndly was
kind, loving, cheerful and a
devoted husband, father and
grandpa.
His parents; brothers,
Robert, Jack and Jimmy;
and his beloved Betty preceded him in death. Lyndly
is survived by his daughters,
Penny Wastcoat (Tony), of
Bozeman, and Nan Walter
(Mitch), of Columbus; grandchildren, Jane Fitzwilliam
(John), of Bozeman , Kate
McDonough (Mike), of Bozeman, and David Walter, of
Missoula;
great-grandson
“JJ” Fitzwilliam, born Feb. 19,
2014, met his Great-Grandpa
on Feb. 21, 2014; sister-in-law
Shirley Nelson, of Glasgow;
step-grandchildren, Mike,
Travis and Brad Walter and
their children, John and Ty
Wastcoat, and their children;
as well as numerous nieces
and nephews.
A graveside service will
be held at the Montana State
Veterans Cemetery at Fort
Harrison, Helena, on March
20, at 11 a.m.
Memorials may be sent
in Lyndly’s name to Shriner’s Hospital for Children/
Transportation Fund, c/o
Algeria Shrine, 911 W. Fifth
Ave., Spokane, WA 99204.
Arrangements are in
the care of Dokken-Nelson
Funeral Service. www.
dokkennelson.com
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Mortuary and Crematory
Serving All Faiths
With Dignity since 1956
Here for you
Before, During and After Services
1001 Alderson Ave.
406-252-3417
NEMER — Maury,
94, of Billings. Funeral
service 11 a.m. Wednesday, Michelotti-Sawyers
Mortuary. Interment Beth
Aaron Cemetery. Memorials, Jenny Nemer Sibinger
Scholarship Fund, c/o the
Boys and Girls Club of Yellowstone County, 505 Orchard Lane, Billings, MT
59101.(3/20)
YAROSKASKI — Myrtle, 92, of Billings. Visitation, Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
and Fri. prior to service at
church. Funeral, 11 a.m.,
Fri., Mar. 21, at Harvest
Church, Lockwood Campus. Reception to follow.
Interment at Sunset Memorial after lunch.(3/21)
SAUNDERS — Connie,
63 of Billings. Cremation.
Celebration of Life, 12:00
p.m., Sat., Mar. 22, at the
Lincoln Center Auditorium. Reception to follow
at the Hiland’s Club. (3/22)
www.michelottisawyers.com
CREMATION &
FUNERAL
GALLERY
Cremation & Burial Society of Montana
29 8th St. W. • Billings • 254-2414
www.cfgbillings.com
Absaroka Beartooth Columbarium
VANDERSNICK —
Alice E. 97, of Abasarokee.
Funeral Mass 11:00 A. M.
Fri. March 21 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church,
Absarokee.
Interment:
Rosebud Cemetery.(3/21)
She wound up her working
career at the Outdoor Supply. She was a member of the
Absarokee Sewing Circle,
as well as other civic and
church clubs. She was a lifelong member of St. Michael’s
Catholic Church.
She married Clarence
J. Vandersnick in 1940. He
died in 1997. Preceding her
in death were daughter, Sharon; son, Robert “Poogie”
Vandersnick; grandson, David Victor Oltrogge; and her
sisters, Dee Smith, Mildred
Keihl and Bertha Howland.
She is survived by her sister, Doris Atkins, of Columbus; her daughters, Jody (Dan
Klingenstein) Guptill, of
Hardin, Theresa (Dan) Burkhart, of Fishtail; daughterin-law Debbie Vandersnick,
of Billings; grandchildren,
Kevin (Shannon) Oltrogge, of
Billings, Jennifer (Laramie)
Baumann, of Hardin, Chad
(Bobbi) Guptill, of Hardin,
Jason (Kara) Vandersnick, of
Lakenheath AFB, England,
Heather (Chad) Landon of
Billings, Michelle (David)
Meinka of Overland Park,
Kan.; and numerous greatgrandchildren.
Services will be Friday,
March 21, at 11 a.m. at St.
Michael’s Parish in Absarokee with burial following in
Rosebud Cemetery, Absarokee. Arrangements are being
handled by Smith Funeral
Chapel-Columbus.
Erwin C. Byrnes
SMITH DOWNTOWN CHAPEL
925 S. 27th
245-6427
HAUCK — Helmer,
76, of Billings. A graveside service will be 2 p.m.
Wed., March 19, at Sunset
Memorial Gardens; 1721
Central Ave. with military honors. The casket is
closed.(3/19)
NICKELL — Carl R.,
85, of Harlowton and
formerly of Columbus.
Cremation. No services planned at this time.
(3/20)
HARDY — Elizabeth
“Becky,” 68, of Nye. Cremation
arrangements
have taken place at Smith
Downtown Chapel, Billings. A gathering for
friends at Carter’s Camp
in Nye, MT on Thurs. 3/20
at 7 p.m.(3/20)
LINDENBERG — Tina
Marie, 48, of Billings. Arrangements are pending at
Smith Downtown Chapel.
(3/20)
KOERNER — Lea
A., 88, Billings. Memorial service 11 a.m. Sat.,
April 5, at Heights Baptist
Church, 810 Garnet Ave.
(3/21)
Connie Saunders
Alice Elam Vandersnick
State and Area Deaths
Serving Billings Area for 110 Years
OBITUARIES
1
SMITH — Dolores.
Cremation has taken place.
Memorial Friday 11 a.m. at
Cremation & Funeral Gallery.
21
Exclusive Provider
Cremation with Confidence Guarantee
Billings Monument Co.
10 Yellowstone Ave. — 406-248-8807
DICKEY — Oliver B., 86, Billings. Vigil Wed., 5:15
p.m. Dahl Funeral Chapel. Memorial Mass Thurs., 10
a.m. at St. Thomas Church, 2210 Colton Blvd. Interment at Mountview Cemetery. Luncheon to follow at St.
Thomas Church. 20
BALDWIN — Vicki, 54, of Billings. Memorial Service
pending at Harvest Church. 20
Proudly serving Billings for 115 years!
HOURS: 8:30-5:00 MON.-FRI.
406-245-3391 • 1-800-498-3319
Love. Light. Effervescent. Sunshine. These are a
few words friends and family use to describe Connie
Saunders, who passed away
peacefully on March 15,
2014, after a long struggle
with cancer.
Connie Kirkness Saunders was born on March 31,
1950, in Billings. She was
the first child of Neal and
Norma Kirkness. She and
her brothers grew up
in a loving
and generous
family. Connie
g raduated
from Billings West
CONNIE
High School
SAUNDERS
in 1968.
In March
of 1969, Connie married
her high school sweetheart, David Pierce. They
were later divorced, but remained good friends. Dave
and Connie’s children are
Terra, Tony and Trena.
In July of 1991, Connie
married Lane Saunders,
who remained her devoted
and loving husband for the
rest of her life. Lane and
Connie spent 23 years together — working, traveling, nurturing each other
as well as each other’s
families. Lane was honored
to spend the last several
months caring for Connie
and meeting her day-today needs.
Connie loved to bowl
with friends and play
cards with family. Connie was a wonderful cook
and brought delicious food
to all gatherings. Children
especially loved Connie’s
cooking — perhaps because
it was made with love, and
usually whipped cream.
Family and friends admired her optimistic outlook and desire to support
and participate in family
events. She spearheaded a
family road trip tradition to
attend her granddaughter’s
dance recitals in Lewistown, loved attending any
event of the little people in
her life, and was always the
first to call on birthdays.
You could count on Connie
unconditionally.
Christmas was Connie’s
favorite holiday, and she
loved to lavishly entertain
family and friends. In fact,
we still think she believes
in Santa. Knowing last year
would be her last Christmas, the family wanted
to make the occasion extra special for Connie. She
was overjoyed when Santa
paid her a visit the day before Christmas Eve in her
home. He presented her
with a special Healing Bell
of Hope, and the children
of the family serenaded her
with Christmas carols. It
was a beautiful evening.
Connie’s career took
several paths throughout
her life. In 1981, she and
Dave bought the Lion’s Den.
She continued working at
The Den with her daughter
Terra until August 2013,
but her true passion was her
career in health care.
Connie worked as a
patient representative at
Billings Clinic until 2001,
when, along with several
colleagues, she left the
Clinic to pursue an opportunity with a startup
company, Revenue Cycle
Partners, now known as
Avadyne Heath.
Connie loved her work
at Avadyne. She was known
for her compassion and
dedication to helping patients, and was well-respected among her coworkers. When Connie required
additional time off for
hospital stays, her fellow
workers donated PTO days
so Connie needn’t worry
about absences. She was an
asset to the organization,
and her kind-hearted disposition has been missed.
Connie was preceded in
death by her parents, Neal
Kirkness and Norma Cox;
and her brother, Rick Kirkness.
She is survived by her
loving husband, Lane;
daughter Terra Pierce
(Rich Wrobel), of Billings;
son Tony (Lisa) Pierce, of
Lewistown and grandchildren Truman and Morgan;
and daughter Trena (Joel)
Bohnke, of Belgrade, and
granddaughters Tessa and
Tiffany, and great-grandchildren Ava and Cash.
Connie’s stepsons are
Bryce (Angie) Saunders, of
Billings, and children Steven, Jarrad and Trent; and
Sam (Stephanie) Saunders,
of Bozeman.
She is also survived by
her loving brother, R.D.
Kirkness, of Red Lodge
and his children, Brandelyn, Britney, BreAnna and
Jayde. She also leaves her
nephew Richard (Sabine)
Kirkness, who was so kind
to her during her illness.
Connie leaves her dear
aunt, Polly Kirkness; cousin Mary (Tim) Bomersbach,
of North Dakota, with
whom she talked every day
and Mary’s brother Greg
(Patsy) Anderson, from
Wisconsin. Mary made
numerous trips to Billings
during Connie’s illness.
She leaves best friends,
Bob and Susie Balko and
Marv and Janet Brown, and
Rich and Carol Miller, who
have shared so many good
times.
Connie wishes to thank
the Pierce family for their
love and support, especially Robin Pierce Richter
and husband Klaus Richter,
who accompanied Connie
on every appointment and
procedure in the last six
months.
She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, and was especially
close to Ursula (Michael
Ormsby) Richter and Kate
(Zach)
Richter
Green,
who have, since they were
young,
called
Connie
“Auntie Angel,” because
she looked like the angel on
a Christmas tree.
Services will be held at
noon on Saturday, March
22, at the Lincoln Center
Auditorium, with a celebration of life reception
immediately following at
Hilands Golf Club.
Connie and the family wish to extend special thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff at St.
Vincent Frontier Cancer
Center for their compassionate care through this
difficult journey, including
Dr. Marty Lucas and her
favorite nurse, Cassie McBride.
Our beautiful Angel has
flown from this earth and
will be in our hearts for
eternity.
M i c h e l o t t i-S a w y e rs
is assisting the family
with
arrangements.
Condolences
may
be
made online at www.
michelottisawyers.com.
Myrtle ‘Myrtie’ Yaroslaski
Myrtle “Myrtie” May now and is whole again —
Yaroslaski, our prayer war- in mind, body and spirit.
rior, went to be with her What better way to go than
Heavenly Father on March go to sleep and wake up in
17, 2014. She was born on Heaven.
July 12, 1921, to Johnnie AlMyrtie was quite the
fred and Mary Rose Jones cook. Everyone loved her
(Neumann) in Roundup. fried chicken and gravy and
She was the tenth of 15 chil- potato salad. To this day
dren.
her Rice Krispie bars are
On June
thought of
29, 1947, she
fondly. As a
married the
bride of two
love of her
years, she
life,
Vicwas featured
tor Vernon
in the SepYaroslaski.
tember 1949
Shortly afFamily Cirter
they
cle. She won
MYRTIE YAROSLASKI
c e l e b ra te d
1st Prize for
their 50th
her Harvest
wedding
anniversary, Vegetable Chowder.
Vic passed away. She was
She was preceded in
heartbroken, but to every- death by her mother, father,
one’s amazement, she car- all but one sister, and her
ried on.
grandson Davy.
One thing you always
She is survived by her
knew about Myrtie was that sister Ada McKeen; her
if you visited her, your name children, Bob (Maria) Yarowent on her prayer list! And slaski of Reno, Nev., Ida
pray she did. There were (Dave) Eichenlaub, of Mistimes she would stay up all soula, Steve (Mayva) Yaronight praying for someone. slaski, of Kelso, Wash., and
She loved “Her Jesus” and Sandy (Chris) Brink, of Billread “Jesus books” and her ings. She is also survived by
Bible every day. Her favor- 11 grandchildren, Monica
ite Bible verse was Romans (Jay), Dahlia (Jared), Darryl
8:28, “And we know that in (Karen), Darren (Michelle),
all things God works for the Leah (Corey), Beth (Matt),
good of those who love him, Nate (Rachel), Jenny (Jerwho have been called ac- emiah), Josiah, Ben (Emcording to his purpose.” She ily) and Christian; 10 greathad a smile that would light grandchildren, Kayleigh,
up the room and you just DJ, Chad, Cole, Staci (Cody),
felt better seeing her. She is Brandon (Brittany), Roger,
smiling down from Heaven Dylan, Anna and Sean, plus
one due in June; and two
great-great-grandchildren,
Davy and Charlotte, plus
one due in July.
A special thank you goes
to the staff at Aspen Meadows. They provided such
loving, compassionate care
for Myrtie. We are thankful that Myrtie was part of
the Aspen Meadows family.
Sandy would like to personally thank them for allowing
her to be the daughter again,
not the caretaker. That was a
blessing that cannot be measured or expressed in words.
The family would also like to
thank Big Sky Senior Services for the care they provided
for Myrtie and Vic during
their days living at home.
Her friend Marie was everfaithful and came to see her
nearly every week.
The casket will be open
for visitation on Thursday
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the
funeral home, and prior
to the service at church.
Funeral services will be held
at 11 a.m., on Friday, March
21, at Harvest ChurchLockwood. Lunch to follow.
Interment will take place at
Sunset Memorial Gardens
after the reception. In lieu
of flowers, memorials may
be made to Big Sky Senior
Services.
MichelottiSawyers
is
assisting
with arrangements, and
remembrances may be
shared with the family at
www.michelottisawyers.
com.
Norvin Rohr
Norvin was born Sept.
29, 1920, to Nels and Sadie
Rohr in Crary, N.D. He left
the family farm at a young
age and worked his way
west to Laurel.
He enlisted in the Air
Force and was stationed
in England, flying in B-17s
during World War II.
He married Lilian Welham in England in 1944.
Discharged from service in
1946, they relocated to Billings.
He spent most of his
time training Lab dogs for
competition in the field trials. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting and made
many trips to the backcountry with his horses and
mules.
After 40+ years and
2.5 million miles of driving trucks over the road he
retired from Peavy Flour.
Lilian passed in 1989. As a
retired widower, he spent
his time rebuilding small
engines, gardening, watching old westerns, and having coffee with his buddies.
Every day after coffee he
made a trip with his faithful
companion “Skoal” down
to his favorite spot on the
river. “You gotta keep going!”
He was preceded in death
by his mother and father;
sisters Orleen and Melvina;
brothers Art, Clayton, Gordie and Stanley.
He is survived by his
brother Virgil; sons Les and
Roger (Carol); grandchildren Dain, Schyler, Jason,
and Angela (Tanner) Everson; great-grandchildren
Damon and Diego.
The family wishes a special thanks to the VA Clinic
and a heartfelt thank you to
NORVIN ROHR
the Riverstone Hospice for
their special care and giving.
A celebration honoring
“Grampa” will be held at
a later date for family and
friends followed by a burial
service.
Arrangements are by
Cremation & Funeral Gallery. Condolences may be
sent to the family at www.
cfgbillings.com
through
“Our Families.”
Please see Obits, B5