Charleen L. Geiger

RONAN — Charleen L. Geiger, 89., of Glendive died of complications from a stroke May 22, 2006, in Ronan.

Charleen was born Oct. 11, 1916, in Red Lodge to Elizabeth Ray Stumpf and Charles Stumpf moving to Seattle two years later and lived there for two years until the death of her father. At the age of four, she moved with her sister June to live with an aunt and uncle on a produce farm in Montana.

She was married in 1934 in Miles City and lived there until 1948 when they moved to Glendive. They later divorced.

On Oct. 11, 1955, she married the love of her life, John, and spent the next 43 years with him until John's death 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 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 she 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 also 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 in death were her beloved husband John and daughter Virginia Middleton of Portland, Ore.; her mother and stepfather, Elizabeth Stumpf Eaton and L.L. Eaton of Richland, Wash.; her father Charles Stumpf; sister June Carter of Illinois; half-sisters Alice Ferch of Billings and Ormarie Dunn of California; half-brother "Bob" Eaton of Trout Creek; brothers-in-law, Walt, Pete and Pius Geiger and their wives, Libby, Earleen and June Geiger; sisters-in-law, Katherine Goodchild and Pauline Westermeyer and their husbands Clayton and "Westy."

Surviving are two sons and their wives, Alan and Carol Monte of Pablo and Gary and Eva Monte of Miles City; sister-in-law, Veronica Wetsch of Bozeman, and all of Charleen's dearly beloved extended family.

Funeral Mass was conducted in the Sacred Heart Church in Glendive on May 27. Burial was in the Dawson County Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, P.O. Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061-0515.

Foster and Durgeloh Funeral Home of St. Ignatius handled the local arrangements.