Shirley Vanderburg

ARLEE — Shirley Rae Vanderburg, 56, of Albuquerque, N.M., died of natural causes in her home on Tuesday, July 18, 2006.

She was born on March 6, 1950, in St. Ignatius to Betty Plant and Eneas R. Vanderburg. She was raised in the Jocko Valley where she had attended school until her graduation. When Shirley was young she spent most of her summers camping with her grandparents and her dad in the Jocko Mountains and in the Placid Lake area.

Upon graduation in 1968 she enlisted in the U.S. Army, proudly serving her country for eight years both as an active duty officer (Ft. McClellan, Ala., and Ft. Lewis, Wash.) and the Reserves in Billings.

After active duty Shirley returned to the Jocko Valley where she married and made a home with William McDonald on July 23, 1972. They had a daughter June Rae McDonald in 1974. They were later divorced.

She attended the University of Montana pursuing her degree in communications. In February 1980, she married James P. Altenhofen in Polson. They moved to Mandan, N.D., for a few years and in 1982 moved to Billings where they had their son, Luke James Altenhofen in 1984.

Throughout her life, Shirley had held several positions, the majority of those being for the U.S. Government as a contracting officer. She had worked for such agencies as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Trust Fund Management and the Office of the Special Trustee, where she would have retired in a few years.

In her younger years, Shirley enjoyed traveling around the Northwest playing in softball tournaments with her sister Ruby and her many friends.

Her greatest passion was her artwork, on which she spent much of her free time — painting and drawing. She also loved traveling and sight-seeing with her children, spending time with her grandson and shopping at her "stores" with her mom and her gram (she never missed a Saturday morning when she was older). Shirley spent a great deal of time in her back yard gardening where she somehow managed to make "Montana" trees grow in the desert climate of New Mexico.

Shirley moved to Albuquerque with her daughter in 1993. As soon as she entered the state, she knew that is where she would spend the rest of her life. She greatly appreciated and adopted the Southwest culture. She had made many great friends in Albuquerque, where she will also be missed.

Shirley was preceded in death by her grandparents Agnes and Jerome Vanderburg, Cecille LaMoose and Mitchell Plant; great-aunt and great-uncle Louise and Abel Combs; a baby sister Jean; two uncles Louis "Spill" Murry and Francis "Zok" Plant; and cousin Roger Vanderburg.

Survivors include her parents Betty Plant of Arlee and Eneas R. Vanderburg of Valley Creek; children June Rae (Dion) McDonald of Arlee and Luke James Altenhofen of Missoula; grandson Donovan Chase Lodge of Arlee; brother Clarence "Beeb" (Geri) Charlo of Umatilla, Ore.; sisters Ruby "Nahnie" Vanderburg of Arlee and Rebecca "Nan" (Rob) Relien of Libby; aunts Lucy (Jay) Vanderburg of Turtle Lake and Annie (Bob) Vanderburg of Arlee; uncles Victor (Sharon) Vanderburg, Joe (Virginia) Vanderburg, all of Arlee; her close cousins, Dorothy "Dode" Blyton of Missoula, Francis "Boge" Plant, James "Swig" Plant of Arlee, Anita "Boon" (Mokey) George of Wapato, Wash., and George (Esther) Vanderburg of Arlee; nieces Loushie (Marty) of Charlo and boys; Shannon, Kristin, Cherra Charlo; Candace Barbe; Michele (Ken) Spottedeagle and kids; Sheila Skipton and girls; Marsha (Gerald) Lefthand and boys; and Sherita, Cheryl and Vanessa Vanderburg; nephews Shilo Barbe, Landon Charlo, Joe Don (Kim) Charlo and kids; Allan and John Bunce and Joe S. Vanderburg; stepdaughter Jackie McDonald and kids; and also Eddie and Stewart Morrell of Cortez, Colo.

Funeral services were held July 24 in the Jocko Church. Interment was in the Jocko Cemetery with military honors being presented.

The family asks that memorials be made to your local honor guard.