Obituaries, March 19
Jahnke, Bigcrane, Vance, Prewett, White, Carmona
Melvin Ray Jahnke
Melvin Ray Jahnke, 55, of Bigfork passed away at Lake View Care Center in Bigfork on Saturday, March 7. No services are planned and arrangements are by Grogan Funeral Home of Polson.
Alice Y. Hawk Bigcrane
RONAN — Alice Yvonne Hawk Bigcrane, 78, of Ronan, beloved mother, sister, auntie, yaya, qene, tupye, passed away of natural causes on Wednesday Jan. 21 at St. Luke’s Hospital.
She was born in St. Ignatius on Jan. 15, 1931 to Eva (Michel) and James Blanket Hawk Sr. A Pend d’Oreille, she was a proud member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She was raised in St. Ignatius and attended Ursulines Academy. Like many of our Tribal members at the time she spent her youthful summers working on the Yakima Reservation.
She married John Francis Bigcrane in 1954. Through his employment, they and their family moved to numerous locations throughout western Montana, north Idaho and eastern Washington. Tragically, John died in a car accident on July 1, 1967.
In 1972, she married James J. Swaney. They later divorced in 1978.
In 1973, she moved her family to Clarice Paul Homesites in Ronan where she remained her living years. Her home was always filled with family and friends.
Alice loved spending time with her large family and sharing in their life and activities. She loved giving gifts to her family, family birthday parties and barbeques, attending powwows, cultural events, dinners and memorials, elder’s activities at Two Eagle and the People’s Center. She loved traveling and especially trips to visit family in Washington. For many years, she served her Tribe as an election judge in the Ronan district, a responsibility she took pride in and enjoyed.
She particularly loved the time spent with her family’s drum group, the Bigcrane Singers, traveling throughout the country, seeing new places and meeting new people. One of her most memorable trips was to Atlanta, Georgia in June 1996 for an International Drum Gathering preceding the Atlanta Olympics.
A resilient woman, Alice lived her life with quiet dignity and a strong will, spirit and mind.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband John; son Ricky; infant daughter Mary; infant sister Rita and her brothers Alfred, James and Donald.
She is survived by sister Janie Wabaunsee of St. Ignatius; her “Twin” Rosemary Santos of Schley; her children Roy, Art, Steve, Lester, James, Ed and Arlene and Willie Caye all of Ronan, and Ellen Rose and Edgar Pretty On Top of Crow Agency; 14 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were her grandsons Tomni Bigcrane and Andrew Bigcrane, nephews Jim, Larry and Ken Wabaunsee and Gordon Williams, Willie Caye, and Terry Tanner.
Wake services began on Jan. 21 at the Longhouse in St. Ignatius. Rosary was held on Jan. 22. Mass was held Jan. 23, at the St. Ignatius Catholic Church. Burial was held in St. Ignatius at the Snyelmn Sntmtmne.
William Jordan Prewett
10-3-1987 - 3-10-2009
Jordan died from hypothermia seeking help for himself and his friends following an automobile accident.
Jordan was born on Oct. 3, 1987, in Cortez, Colo. to Kenny and Merrie Prewett. The family moved to Pablo in 1991 where Jordan attended Glacier View Christian School. The family then moved to Arlee in 2000, and Jordan attended Valley Christian School in Missoula. Most recently, Jordan had worked for Sheehan Construction on a pipeline job in Florida and was preparing to go to the next job in Georgia.
Last fall, Jordan had renewed his faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ, and had returned home eager to share it with his friends. We could see the blessings of God in his life. He was a joy to be around.
Jordan leaves behind his parents, Kenny and Merrie; his brother, Asa (Jenna) and their children Izayus and Amira; his sister Laura (Sonny) Ford and their daughter Kate; and his sister, Anna; his grandmother, Floanne Prewett and his close friend, Sergey Svetlichny.
Visitation was held on Sunday at the Grogan Funeral Home in Polson. Jordan’s funeral was held on Monday, March 16, at Jocko Valley Baptist Church burial immediately following at Lakeview Cemetery in Polson. Grogan Funeral Home in Polson has charge of the arrangements.
Condolences may also be sent to the family at www.groganfuneralhome.com
“Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
Richard Gerald White
Richard “Dick” Gerald White, 73, passed away unexpectedly on March 8 at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, Calif. Dick was born in Polson on Sept. 10, 1935, to Mabel (Douglas) Williams and James “Bud” P. White.
Dick grew up in the Polson area and graduated from Polson High School in 1953. He served in the US Army from 1954-56. He returned to Missoula and received his BA from the University of Montana in 1963.
Dick married Sharon Walsh (Crouch) in 1963 and they moved to Los Angeles. They had two children and later divorced. Dick had a long and successful career in the automotive industry, interrupted briefly from 1979 to 1982 when he returned to Polson where he purchased and managed the Wolf Den tavern in Polson. In Polson, Dick met Troy Edison. They married in 1987 and settled in Stockton, Calif. where Dick remained in the auto industry until he retired. An avid golfer, Dick spent most of the days of his retirement at the Elkhorn Country Club in Stockton, golfing and serving on the board of directors there.
Dick was preceded in death by his father and mother and his brother Douglas. Dick is survived by his wife, Troy; brothers Donald of San Jose, Calif, James of St. George, Utah and David Williams of Paradise, Calif.; son Wesley, of Missoula; daughter Sandra Potter (David) of Altadena, Calif.; his grandson and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the Elkhorn Country Club in Stockton, Calif. at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 22.
Harold Derwood Vance
Harold Derwood Vance, 83, of Polson, passed away on Monday, March 9 at St. Luke Extended Care facility in Roana of natural causes. Harold was born on Feb. 16, 1926, in Medicine Lake, the son of Ole and Myrtle Vance. He married Vivian A. Bjorgen on June 2, 1947. He started work for the Ronan School District in 1948 at the age of 21, driving bus. He was the maintenance supervisor when he retired at the age of 62 in 1988.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, Vern, Howard, Lyle and Donny, and two sisters, Doris Thompson and Myrle Dodge.
He is survived by his wife Vivian of Polson; his children, Danny Vance of Hot Springs, Barb (Bill) Foust of Ronan, and Darlene (Don) Wells of Clark Fork, Idaho; ten grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Friends paid their respects on Friday, March 13 at the Shrider-Thompson Funeral Chapel. Funeral services were held on Saturday, March 14 in the Ronan High School gymnasium. Private family interment will be in the Ronan Cmentery. The family prefers that donations be made to St. Luke Exteneded Care Facility, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department or the Polson or Ronan fire departments. Shrider-Thompson Funeral and Cremation Services is assisting with arrangements.
Carol Grende Carmona
Carol Grende Carmona, known artistically as C. A. Grende. Carol, our beautiful wife, sister and friend, passed away on March 9 from pneumonia brought on as a complication of the leukemia she fought for 20 months. She was surrounded by family and all the love and prayers from her friends from around the world.
Carol was born in Grangeville, Idaho in 1955, to Lila and Dale Grende. She was the youngest of five children: Mike, twins Tom and Ted and Janene.
She made her mark early with her fun-loving smile and mischievous ways. Carol’s life journey was filled with laughter, her husband David Carmona, great friends and art.
Since childhood, she loved the story of Lewis and Clark. Carol was born 150 years to the day from when the Corps of Discovery traveled the Clearwater River near Kooskia, Idaho where the family lived. In fact, she lived most of her life along the Lewis and Clark trail and also atttended Sacajawea Jr. High School in Lewiston, Idaho, then graduated from Lewiston High School in 1974.
She was the renowned sculptor of several historical monuments of the Lewis and Clark expedition that stand in many places across the country. Her larger-than-life-size sculpture of Lewis and Clark shaking hands to start their westward journey is placed at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Ind. overlooking the Ohio River. The sculpture is mounted on a 16-ton Jefferson limestone base and stands over 14 feet tall overall. Another monument, “Sacajawea’s Arduous Journey”, exemplifies the feelings that were stirred within Carol’s soul: “I have seen her in my mind’s eye, a woman of great strength and perseverance. In her face is great determination. Sacajawea is truly a culmination of my career and represents the perseverance we all must have to proceed on in times of trouble.” This sculpture is to be installed at Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho during the summer of 2009 Castings will also be placed in Dayton, Wash. and Great Falls.
Carol was highly honored when she was invited by Bud Clark, a direct descendant of William Clark, to ride horseback across the Lolo Pass in the bicentennial reenactment of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Her final monument-sized sculpture was the “We Will Never Forget” Veterans Memorial, in Kalispell, which was installed in July 2007. The 9x6-foot statue of a kneeling soldier was commissioned by the Flathead County Veterans and the Kalispell Elks Lodge in honor of brave veterans who sacrificed so much.
While her monuments were the culmination of her life’s work, Carol produced more than 100 sculptural designs, and was also known for her paintings, scratchboards and other artistic work.
Carol and David loved to travel and toured the United States from Monticello, Va. to Astoria, Ore. for historical research. She showed her art in England and toured Scotland.
Survivors include husband David; granddaughter Leandra; great-granddaughters Jamie Rose and Skyler Maude and Carol’s sister Janene, and brother Ted, and nieces and nephews Tomi, Stacy, Kellie, Jason, Dawn, LaRinda and Jessi and their families, along with some of the greatest girlfriends a person could ever have, Pat, Brenda, Karen, Ann, Norma, the list could go on. Preceding her in death are her parents Dale and Lila Grende and brothers Mike and Tom.
Carol’s children were the four-legged type, her cat Black Cat, and horses Britches, Jaunty (who she rode over Lolo Pass), Little Bit and Laddie. Her two favorite trail buddies who preceded her in death were Bo, her Walkaloosa, and Dee, her Dalmatian. Carol loved to be outdoors with them and said, “The trails to me are sacred they are my favorite places to be. Along them walk the spirits of so many who have gone before us. When you are out there by yourself, as I often am, my imagination runs wild with images of the past. I believe the spirits are there guiding me, protecting me from danger; I feel their presence as I ride horseback—the same fresh wind blows across my face.”
Memorials can be made to: CA Grende Memorial Fund benefit account, P.O. Box 7130, Kalispell, MT 59904. A celebration of her life is planned for June 27 at Big Arm, for details janene@sisna.com. She’d like to leave you with this thought: Charge on. . . Have no fear!
Engagement, March 19
Francis and Skogen
Francis and Skogen
Lucius and MaryEllen Francis of Great Falls are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Marissa LeShaun Francis, to Aaron Skogen, son of Fred and Tammy Skogen of Ronan.
Marissa graduated from Great Falls High in 2007 and attended the University of Great Falls. At UGF, she is involved in numerous clubs and organizations while also starting on the UGF women’s varsity basketball team. She is majoring in business administration with a minor in communication. She plans on attending graduate school when she finishes her bachelor’s.
Aaron graduated from Ronan High School in 2005 and attended Miles Community College on a basketball scholarship. He then transferred to the University of Great Falls and is a member of the men’s varsity basketball team. He is majoring in secondary education and math.
After graduation, Aaron plans on attending Bible School to pursue a degree in pastoral studies.
Aaron and Marissa were engaged on Sept. 24, 2008 and are planning to be married on June 6 in Great Falls.