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LORETTA BELL WILSON
Our beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend, Loretta Bell Wilson, passed quietly from this life on Nov. 11, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Ronan.
Loretta was born to Lloyd and Mary Bergstrom in O’Neill, Neb., on Nov. 18, 1917. She was fond of saying, with a smile, that she was “born in jail,” and then adding that her father was a Deputy Sheriff. (They lived above the jail). Loretta’s family moved by train from Nebraska to Clareton, Wyo., in the 1920s. Their home was a sod house without electricity or running water.
The family grew to include siblings Leon, Evelyn and Max. They eked out their survival with milk cows, chickens and a big garden. Loretta attended a country one-room school through eight grade, then went into Newcastle High School. She excelled in business classes, and became a proficient stenographer and accountant.
She was fond of choir and drama, having a lead role in her class play. After graduating high school, Loretta moved to Deadwood, S.D., where her dad ran a service station and she was his bookkeeper. It was there that she met the love of her life, Francis Wilson. Within a month, he proposed marriage to Loretta, who was planning to leave for a summer job at the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho. They were married July 15, 1937 at the Methodist Church in Newcastle, where Francis was employed. The couple gave their last few dollars to a photographer for wedding pictures, but found that he had skipped town with their money and no photos.
Their first child, Donna, was born in 1938. In 1941, Loretta nearly died from burns received from a stove accident. She recovered, and became a switchboard operator for the local telephone company until the birth of Sandra in 1944, followed by Carole in 1947, and Mary Jo in 1950. Two other daughters and one son also were born during this time but didn’t survive.
While in Newcastle, Loretta was a member of the Methodist Church, WSCS, Church Choir, Eastern Star, a caretaker for the church, and was bookkeeper and secretary for the Francis Wilson Television business. She was a trophy bowler and winning bridge player, in addition to being a great cook and an excellent seamstress and needle worker.
When Francis Wilson retired as Superintendent of the Oil Refinery in Newcastle, they went on to manage, and then own, several motels — the perfect team for success.
Finally, they moved to their little paradise near the Mission Mountains in Montana. She became active in the local United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Charlo Senior Center, and Polson Paddlewheelers Square Dance Club. They also enjoyed golfing on the nine-hole course which Francis and his son-in-law Larry built, as well as several winter stays in Parker, Ariz.
Loretta was preceded in death by three infant children, her parents and siblings, two grandsons, and her beloved Francis, in 2011. She is survived by daughters Donna Wilson (Darrell Hirte), Sandra Bonner (Harry), Carole Wilson, Mary Jo Johnson (Rick), 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Memorial Service was held Nov. 13, at Polson Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, officiated by Pastor Paul Rowold, Musicians Donna Rowold and the Wilson Family Singers.