Obituaries, March 11
Gaffney, Rue, Dachs, Webb, Keys, Strahan, Erickson
Leo Joseph Gaffney
Former Polson resident Leo Joseph Gaffney died on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., due to complications that resulted from his cancer treatment. He was 75 years old.
Leo was born on Oct. 4, 1934, in Stutsman County, N.D., the youngest child of John and Josephine (Plinski) Gaffney. He attended schools in North Dakota and Hawley, Minn., graduating from Hawley High School in 1952. He attended North Dakota State College in Fargo, N.D., and served in the Air National Guard before moving to Los Angeles, Calif.
He was preceded in death by his two brothers, Don and John Gaffney and his sister Mary Gaffney. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Pauline,; sister Rachel Zink of Carrington, N.D.; five children: Sandra Johnson (Burt) of Redmond, Wash., Diane Richard of Polson, John Gaffney (Norma) of Glendora, Calif., Steve Gaffney of Cave Creek, Ariz. and Mary Gaffney (Ed Hansen). He had 18 grandchildren, five step-grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Leo married Pauline Jessie Duran on June 26, 1957, in Los Angeles and they spent the majority of their years as a family of seven in Garden Grove, Calif. Leo and his family moved to Polson in 1974 and quickly became part of the community. Leo "never met a stranger" and whether he was covered in paint from head to toe, having coffee at the Driftwood, or enjoying the many school activities that his five children were involved in, everyone seemed to know "Leo the painter." So popular was he with all age groups that he even made the 1977 Polson High School Yearbook, in his paint clothes, of course. He and Pauline left Polson in 1991 and moved to Alaska, Colorado, then Texas and finally to Arizona. He was a very loving and giving father and grandfather, proud of his children and always checking in on the numerous grandchildren, knowing the individual personalities of each and every one. He will be greatly missed, and regardless of how many conversations we had with him before his death, we will always wish we had one more.
Services were held on Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Desert Hills Mortuary in Scottsdale, Ariz. Leo is interred at the Holy Redeemer Cemetery, 23015 N. Cave Creek Road in Phoenix, Ariz.
Ernest C. Rue
Ernest C. Rue, 89, of Polson, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Evergreen Polson Health and Rehabilitation where he had currently been a resident. Cremation has taken place and services will be private. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family online at www.groganfuneralhome.com. Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory, Polson is assisiting Mr. Rue's family.
George Robert Dachs
George Robert Dachs passed away on Feb. 15 of natural causes. George was born on June 13, 1918, in Deer Lodge to Lukas and Anna Rotzinger Dachs. He attended schools in Deer Lodge and graduated from Powell County High School in 1937.
He then went to work for the Montana Highway Patrol in Helena, serving as bookkeeper and performing other office duties. In 1941, George joined the U.S. Naval Reserve on active duty and served in various posts, including Pearl Harbor.
On Dec. 29, 1945, he married Helen Liming, who was also serving in the Navy, in Memphis, Tenn.
After their discharge from the Navy, they returned to Deer Lodge where George worked for the Milwaukee Railroad as a fireman and engineer. In September 1948, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska Arts and Sciences College. In 1954 he graduated from the University of Nebraska Dental College, having been selected for the dental honorary fraternity, OKU.
George practiced dentistry in Kalispell from 1954 until his retirement in 1982. He enjoyed many summers at Swan Lake where he built a log cabin for the family. He cut trees for the logs and made his own shakes for the roof. He was very proud of that cabin.
George was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, in 2007, following 61 years of marriage; son, Terry, and infant daughter, Kathleen; two brothers and two sisters.
He is survived by daughters: Cherie Shevlin and Joe, of Helena, and Nancy Posivio, and Bill, of Ronan; and son, Dave, and Maureen, of Cascade. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; one sister, LaVona Schrieber, of Missoula and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. March 13, at St. Matthew's Church in Kalispell. A rosary will be said at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, March 12, also at St. Matthew's.
Memorials may be made to the Terry Dachs Memorial Award (a scholarship award for graduating seniors with learning disabilities) Kalispell School District No. 5, 233 First Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901.
Lillian Rose Keys
Lillian Rose Keys, 93, of Polson, passed away at Polson Health and Rehabilitation Center on March 4.
Lillian was born on March 16, 1916, in Oakland, Iowa, to George and Margaret Rust. Lillian graduated from Oakland High School in 1934.
Lillian was married to Joseph A. Keys for 40 years.
During WWII, Lillian kept books for the family feed and poultry business in Macedonia, Iowa. She raised two children and received her Montessori training in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She went on to teach three years in Iowa and 10 years in southern California. Lillian moved to Polson in 1987.
Lillian was the first "Grandma" chosen for the Polson School District. She worked for a year in kindergarten and the rest of the time she spent with the third graders.
She loved to bake and was known for her orange rolls and pies. She loved children and was thrilled when she became a great-grandma to Madeline Smiley. Her family was very important to her and she was loved by them.
Her husband and her son Rev. Joseph A. Keys Jr. and her daughter Julia Jane Bedell preceded her in death.
She is survived by daughter-in-law, Sally (Keys) McConnell and two grandchildren: J. Aaron Keys III and Jocelyn Keys Smiley.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 10, at First United Methodist Church, Polson. Messages may be sent to the family online at www.groganfuneralhome.com. The staff of Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory, Polson considers it a privilege to care for Mrs. Keys' family.
Rene Nikole Strahan
Rene Nikole Hunter Strahan, 39, of Albuquerque, N.M. and formerly of Polson, passed away on Monday, March 1 at her home.
Rene was born on July 12, 1970, in Polson, the daughter of Wilbert Michel and the late Florence Hunter, who passed away in 2001. She attended local schools and graduated from Polson High School in 1988. Afterward, she attended MSU for two years.
Rene married Christopher Strahan. Becoming a military wife, they traveled across the U.S. as Chris was stationed at different Air Force Bases. She worked for various companies including National Wildlife Fish and Game in Kodiak, Alaska, served as a hospital coordinator in New Jersey and also at the Division of Lands for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Polson.
During her life, Renee enjoyed writing, traveling and taking her family to places they have never been before. She was always planning vacations with her whole family. Above all, she loved spending time with her family and was loved very much by the children in the neighborhood. Rene was a very kind person who had a big heart. She was a good mother and wife and excelled in everything she did.
Those left with cherished memories are her husband, Christopher Strahan; her three sons: Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Derek Strahan all of Albuquerque, N.M.; her father, Wilbert Michel of Polson; grandparents, Mary West of Polson and Clarence Hunter and Dorothy Felsman of Arlee; several extended sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles who grew up with her and helped grandmother raise Rene. She will be greatly missed by all her family.
Rene's family received friends on Monday, March 8, at Grogan Funeral Home, 101 Sixth Ave. E., Polson, with a vigil service beginning later . Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Tuesday, March 9, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Polson with Father James Connor officiating. Interment will follow at St. Ignatius Catholic Cemtery, St. Ignatius. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family online at www.groganfuneralhome.com. The staff of Grogan Funeral Home, Polson, considers it a privilege to care for the family of Mrs. Strahan.
Denise J. Old Horn
ST. IGNATIUS - Denise J. Old Horn, 43, passed away on March 3, in Missoula from an aneurism.
A dearly loved wife and auntie, she was born in Spokane, Wash., on June 28, 1966, to Delbert and Wilma Carol (Pratt) Lee. Raised in the Spokane area, she received her formal education from the Job Corps in Washington State and working for Headstart as an aide before marrying Lester Joseph Old Horn.
They made their home on the Salish and Kootenai Reservation, where she was a dedicated wife who loved to bead, fish, hike and go hunting with her family. While she was not born native, she became one in her family's eyes and she also had a new nickname whether it was going to powwows or just picking mushrooms and huckleberries.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother Duane.
She leaves behind her husband Lester of St. Ignatius; a step-daughter Tiffany Wells and two grandchildren of Missoula; sisters Charie of Oregon and Cindy of Spokane, Wash., and her grandma Polly Lee Harrison of Spokane, Wash., as well as a large extended family including her 26 nephews who she considered her own and Reggie, Susep and Nicky.
A traditional wake began on Saturday evening at the Longhouse in St. Ignatius where the rosary was held on Sunday. Funeral services were held on Monday in the Longhouse with burial following in the Hminsto (Pierre - Old Horn) Cemetery in Camas Prairie.
Barry Webb
Barry Webb took great delight is saying he was born on his birthday in Great Falls. He was forever astounded that he had the good luck to be born on his birthday. That happy birthday occurred on May 5, 1940. Barry lived briefly in Anaconda and Ronan. Just after his sixth birthday, he moved to Finley Point. From that tender age until his death on Feb. 23, 2010, from cancer, Barry was a Polson fan. He loved all the people he met in Polson and he remembered all of their names. The people of Polson returned the favor and loved Barry back.
When Barry was in grade school, he was selected as a member of the school patrol and served as a crossing guard. He loved it and performed his duties with great enthusiasm. He was disappointed when he could no longer be a patrol. So, he continued to ply his trade as Polson's unofficial traffic director. The good people of Polson let him, but when Barry waved them through, most looked both ways before they proceeded.
The Polson Pirates never had a more loyal fan than Barry. Since 1978, when he and his family moved to town, he never missed a home game unless he was away or in the hospital. He was honored by the Pirates several times with T-shirts, hats and a grand plaque. He always treasured these items and usually "suited up" in one of the gifts before a game.
For years when Barry stepped out of his house in the morning, he said, "Good Morning, Lord." The First Presbyterian Church in Polson never had a more faithful member. Barry rang the bell for worship for so many years some can't remember who did it before him. He ignored the pain in his aching knees to climb the church stairs to help with any chore he could. Barry loved his church and the church returned the favor and loved him back.
Barry had a buoyant, sociable and irrepressible personality. Barry's mother tried for 63 years to get Barry to speak quietly. It never worked. He was loud. According to Doug Chase, Barry's booming voice could be heard for half a block as he greeting friends around Polson and jokingly asked them if they were lost.
Most of Barry's honors came in the last few weeks of his life. They have been enumerated in this paper and others. What is important to know, especially to those who provided those honors, is that Barry was thrilled with all of them. The tangible honors and cards decorated his house when he died. The intangible, the attention he received, made him feel happy and special in his last weeks. He smiled more than usual and Barry always smiled a lot.
Many of the markers of success, for which many of us strive in our lives, never happened for Barry. But just by being his happy self, he touched more lives in a positive way and endeared himself to more good people, than many, if not most, of his fellow humans. Barry lived a successful and happy life. He will be missed.
Barry's parents, Leonard and Correan Webb, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister, Charlotte Webb Skofstad; his brother-in-law Dennis Skofstad and a nephew, Dave Skofstad and family, all of Bothell, Wash.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at the Linderman Gym in Polson at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 20.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Barry Webb Memorial Fund at The First Citizen's Bank, 213 1st Street West, Polson, MT 59860. This fund will be used to establish a permanent memorial to Barry on Main Street, Polson, where he loved to be.
William J. Erickson
William J. Erickson, 78, of Polson, passed away on Sunday, March 7, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson. Grogan Funeral Home of Polson will announce arrangements.