Mildred Brown
ST. IGNATIUS — Mildred Marie Sedlacek Brown, 85, of West Post Creek died Aug. 19, 2005.
Mildred was born in Washington County, Kan., at the family home to John and Rose Fruh Sedlacek. She and seven brothers and sisters were raised on the family farm through the Depression era. Mildred attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and later became the teacher in the same schoolhouse.
Mildred agreed to a blind date set up by a mutual friend and met her future husband Arvid. She and Arvid Brown were married in March 1941.
Together they had three children. In 1954, the family moved to Montana to the St. Ignatius area. Arvid died in 1985 and Mildred stayed on in this area where her children had started families of their own.
Mildred worked as a teacher, cooked in several area restaurants and cooked at the Holy Family Hospital in St. Ignatius for 20 years. After "retirement" she looked forward to working on the Callahan potato farm each year sorting potatoes. She enjoyed the companionship and socialization part of the job.
She also raised chickens. She took eggs to the Farmers Market in Missoula to sell and would sell out within an hour.
She continued working the potatoes, raising chickens and selling her eggs into her late 70s.
She enjoyed traveling with a group of ladies to Bingo games from Polson to Missoula to Plains. It was only the last few weeks that she was not feeling strong enough to go to Bingo.
Mildred was an active lady, going to and giving family dinners on a regular basis. She also kept up beautiful flower gardens. She was very attached to her animals and cared for them like children. She was proud of the fact that she kept up her own home, took care of her own business and drove where she needed to go.
She described herself as never giving up on anything and she fought hard to stay here with her family right up to the end.
Mildred was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Arvid and a granddaughter, Robin.
She is survived by all seven of her siblings — brothers Melvin Sedlacek of Marysville, Kan., Alvin Sedlacek (Delois) of Marysville and Louis (Bernadine) of Seneca, Kan., and sisters Loretta Henshaw of Kansas City, Kan., Josephine Peoples (George) of Dallas, Delores Clark (Eldy) of Kendrick, Idaho, and Shirley Koehler (Edward) of Hanover, Kan.; her children, Richard Brown of the family home, Gerald Brown (Vicki) of Helena and Denise Incashola (Tony) of St. Ignatius; 10 grandchildren who will miss her immensely, Jacki (Eliot), Sue San, Jerry Jr. (Nancy), Daren, Brian (Aspen), Brandy, Tony Jr., Patti (Casey), Stacey and Ray (Debbie); great-grandchildren, Cody, Bryan, Mariah, Cody, Carson, Alexis, Emily and Joseph.
Mom's faith was always an important part of her life.
Mass services was celebrated Aug. 23 at the St. Ignatius Catholic Mission.
Because of Mom's love of animals and the fact that if an animal stayed at her home more than a day it was taken to be neutered, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Lake County Humane Society in her name, and that donations be specifically earmarked for spay and neuter purposes.
Foster and Durgeloh Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.