Obituaries, Feb. 19

Shae, Kenmille, Coulson, Garcia

John William Shae Jr.

John William Shae Jr., 63, of Owatonna, Minn., lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Saturday, Jan. 31.

He was born on July 26, 1945, in Williston, N.D. to John Shae Sr. and Laurel (McClelland) Poeckes, graduated from Williston High School in 1963 and in 1969, he graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.  In Williston, he worked as city treasurer, public accountant, certified financial planner, and was elected to the city commission. John was a member of the Williston Chamber of Commerce, the Hockey Association, the Williston Boys Baseball Committee, the Pherrin County Township Board, as well as other organizations. He was treasurer of the Upper Missouri Valley Fair Board and is listed in the Baseball Hall of Fame for his help in organizing the first National 13-year-old Babe Ruth Baseball Tournament in North Dakota.

Opening new offices for Investment Centers of America took him to Malta and Polson and Fairbanks, Alaska where he was also a member of various organizations. The desire to be closer to family brought John and his wife, Holly, back to the lower 48, settling in Owatonna, Minn. in June of 2000, where he opened Midwest Investment Center.  He was elected treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce and was a member of organizations such as the Rotary Club and BNI.

A loving husband, father, step-father, grandfather, son, brother and uncle. John leaves behind his wife, companion and friend, Holly. Six children, Steve (Laura) Shae of Owatonna, Minn., Mike (Deb) Shae of Jamestown, N.D., Paul (Sarah) Shae of Kalispell, Sheri (George) Byerly of Williston, N.D., Lisa Silvey of Temple, GA, and Chad Carscallen of Spokane Valley, Wash. Eleven grandchildren, Kali, Tayler, Chris, Hunter, Shannon, Jack, Eve, Talysa, Braeden, Paige and James. His mother, Laurel. Three sisters, BJ (Jimmy) Bertsch, Kay Marie (Scott) Johnson and Sandra Shae Horob; five brothers, Steve (Barb), Dale (Sandi), David (Marcey), Gary (Carla) Poeckes and Jerry (Colette) Shae and their families.

John will be cremated and a memorial service will be held in Owatonna, Minn. Another service will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 124 Sixth St. West, in Williston, N.D., after which, he will be laid to rest in the Hillside Cemetery.

John will be greatly missed by his friends and family.

Auddie M. Coulson

ARLEE – Auddie M. Coulson, 49, of Arlee passed away on Wednesday Feb. 11 at St. Patrick’s Hospital. He was born on Feb. 12, 1959, in Spokane, Wash.

 Auddie was raised and educated in the Jocko Valley, by his parents Jim and Connie. He enjoyed cooking, carpentry, hunting, fishing, bowling and having barbecues with his family and friends. Auddie loved dancing the jitterbug and polka, with his sister Becky, and he enjoyed spending time with his wife and children.

Auddie was a very strong-willed person, and will be missed by everyone who knew him. He is preceded in death by his parents Jim and Connie (Moran) Coulson; sister Linda (Coulson) Dahl; grandparents Ernie and Alice Moran and Wilbur and Ottie Coulson and numerous other relatives.

Auddie is survived by his wife of ten years, Shawna and their three children: Nathanial, Noah and NataLee all of Arlee; an ex-wife Michelle and their three children: Jenny and Martin of California and Rusty of Arlee; three sisters Debbie (Skip) Privett of Missoula, Rebecca Dillard of Arlee and Peggy (Bob) Hammond of Wasilla, Alaska; a brother Chet James of California and a large extended family of very good friends including Jim and Clayton Malatare.

A memorial Mass was celebrated for Auddie on Saturday, Feb. 14 in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Arlee with Fr. Andrew Maddock, S.J. as celebrant. Following the services a reception will be held at the Arlee Community Center. Foster Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Agnes “Oshanee” Cullooyah Kenmille

Agnes “Oshanee” Cullooyah Kenmille was born on March 16, 1916, near Arlee to Paul and Annie (Lumpry) Cullooyah. 

Through her mother, she was a descendent of Chief Charlo’s band of Salish who was forcefully removed from the Bitterroot in 1892. Her mother taught her to bead at a young age. At the tender age of 13, she was orphaned.

The following year she married Edward Stasso and moved to Elmo where she had one daughter, Annie Stasso Antiste. While living in Elmo, she became a fluent speaker of the Kootenai language and started her journey to becoming an expert in hide tanning and bead work.

Following the death of her husband, she remarried Joseph Mathias, son of Chief Baptiste Mathias, and together they had two children, Catherine Mathias and Camille Mathias. In 1937, while helping build Kerr Dam, an unfortunate rock slide killed Joe Mathias.  Her third marriage was to Camille Kenmille and they had four sons, Wilfred, Eneas, Laurence and Donald Kenmille. They later divorced. She continued to raise her family, working numerous jobs across the northwest, while continuing to master her bead work.

Gramma taught language classes along with arts and crafts at Two Eagle River School. She was a fluent speaker of both Kootenai and Salish Languages. She also taught hide tanning at Salish Kootenai College for many, retiring in

2008. She received numerous, prestigious honors and awards, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Montana Art’s Governor Award. She also received an honorary bachelors degree from Salish Kootenai College.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Annie and Paul Cullooyah; husbands Edward Stasso, Joseph Mathias, Camille Kenmille and companion Mose Auld; brothers Alex, Frank and John Cullooyah; sisters Mary Cullooyah Andrews, Cecille Cullooyah Ascencio; daughter Annie Stasso Antiste; grandchildren Joseph Hamel, Timothy Mathias and Kelly Ann Kenmille

She is survived by her children Catherine Mathias Hamel, Camille Mathias, Wilfred Kenmille, Eneas Kenmille, Laurence Kenmille, Donald Kenmille, stepson Michel “Mike” Kenmille; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

Gramma loved war dances and was the head war dance woman for the Arlee and Standing Arrow Powwows. Over the years she traveled to numerous powwows throughout the northwest and Canada. Gramma had many friends throughout the

world and each of you had a special place in her heart. She had a jolly

personality and lived and loved life to the fullest. Gram was a very firm believer in traditional customs and beliefs. Gramma believed in hard work. She had a knack for making people laugh and enjoyed the company of her many

friends and especially the younger generations.

Grammas other special past times included picking berries, digging various roots, eating traditional foods and playing rummy according to “grammas rules.”

It’s been great living with Gramma in this day and age as she was a walking encyclopedia. She lived an old-timers life and shared much of it with everyone she encountered. She shared her knowledge of life and experiences

with us all.  She was a great teacher and a unique self made woman. We will miss her dearly and never forget her as her teachings and stories remain with us. We realize how lucky we were to have her as part of our lives. As

we heard her say “You Got Brains?”

A wake began at Elmo Cultural Hall in Elmo on Friday and continued in St. Ignatius  at the Longhouse on Saturday. On Sunday, the wake moved to the Arlee Community Center in Arlee with the Rosary being

recited at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Mass was celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday in the St. John Berchman’s Catholic Mission at the Jocko Agency near Arlee with burial following at the Jocko Catholic Cemetery.

Joseph Edmond Garcia

“Our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, it isn’t going to be easy to say goodbye.”

Joe was born in Polson on May 27, 1939, and joined our creator on Feb. 11 at his new home with his wife by his side Joe passed away from natural causes.

He served in the U.S. Army in 1958 and returned back to the Flathead Reservation after his military discharge.

He met the love of his life; Suzanne Clemens and they married on July 2, 1965, in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. Joe and Sue had 43 wonderful years together. They had four children, Jacqueline being the oldest and Joe being the youngest.

Joe enjoyed hunting, fishing and golf. He would call up his brothers and say “golf anyone?” Spending time with his family was what dad enjoyed. Camping at Blue Bay by the lake and having family get togethers will be memories cherished by everyone.

Joe is preceded  in death by his parents Trinidad and Annie Garcia, brother Jack, two sisters Connie Huffman and Clara Bykari, two sons and a grandson Andrew Sharp.

Joe is survived by his wife Suzanne; a daughter Jacqueline Sharp; son Joe ( Ronda) Garcia and six grandchildren- Jon, Samuel Sharp, Bradlee Garcia, LaShelle Sharp, Koby, Michlyn Garcia; brothers Don (Sylvia), Plair, Lyle (Maxine), George (Trudie) Garcia and many nephews, nieces and great-nephews and great-nieces.

Visitation was held from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Grogan Funeral Home in Polson. A vigil service was held at 7 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the Immaculate Conception catholic Church with Rev. Jim Connor officiating. Military honors will follw the services at the church. A reception will follow in the church basement. Cremation will follow the services and private interment will be held at Lakeview Cemetery in Polson.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.groganfuneralhome.com