Obituaries

Oct 27, 2019

James Duncan Turner, age 70, of Shepherd, passed away on Oct. 22, 2019. He was born to Jack and Vivian Turner on Jan. 7, 1949.

Jim graduated from Billings West H.S. in 1967 and attended MSU. He worked as a TV cameraman for numerous NBC affiliates, including Q2 in Billings, Great Falls and KTAR in Phoenix -...

Oct 25, 2019

A husband, father, grandfather, oilman, sportsman, athlete and friend to many, John Walker Batts passed away on Oct. 20, 2019, surrounded by his family.

John was born on Dec. 15, 1924, to John E. Batts and Agnes Amelia Batts in Marion, Illinois. During the Depression, the family lived with John's maternal grandmother in Ewing, Illinois, until the...

Oct 21, 2019

Regina "Gina" Mary Scofield, 70, of Billings, Montana, and Lake Havasu City, Arizona, passed away at her Billings home on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. Gina was born on May 11, 1949, in Miles City, to Raymond and Evelyn Kelnhofer.

She is survived by her husband, Charles Scofield; sons KT Monson (Lori), Billings, Kevin Monson (Amber), Plentywood; sisters...

Oct 20, 2019

Verlaine Kay Van Atta, 73, of Billings, left us on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, from natural causes and surrounded by her loved ones. She entered the arms of her Lord Jesus and her precious mother Ella.

Verlaine was born on April 13, 1946, to Oren and Ella Barnhart in Kalispell. She grew up in Columbia Falls and...

Oct 20, 2019

We mourn the loss of our mother, Evelyn Crossfield Degenhart, who passed away on Oct. 15, 2019, at age 93.

Evelyn was born on March 2, 1926, in Big Timber, the second daughter to Inga Tjaaland Crossfield and Edmund Crossfield, with the help of a midwife. She enjoyed growing up in Big Timber and swimming in the...

Oct 18, 2019

Marjorie was born in Billings on April 4, 1933, to Oscar and Bertha McBeth. She passed away on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at the age of 86 years.

Marjorie attended grade school in Billings, and graduated from Billings Senior High in 1951. In 1952, she married James L. Meader in Billings. They lived a short time in...

Oct 18, 2019

Marlene Ann Agnew, born March 9, 1938, in Beach, ND, passed away on Oct. 10, 2019, in Billings, MT.

Marlene lived the majority of her life in Montana. She and her husband, Tom, were able to travel to many wonderful places in the world, but she was happiest when she was spending time with her family. Family...

Oct 16, 2019

Phyllis Elisabeth (McCumber) Pfluge, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on Oct. 11, 2019, in Billings.

Phyllis was the youngest of four children born to Charles and Ethel McCumber on Dec. 6, 1921, in Academy, South Dakota. She was born during the Great Depression, which contributed to her values of hard work and a generous...

Oct 15, 2019

Lillian Caroline Giuliano, 92, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, from natural causes, at St. John's United in Billings.

Lillian was born Aug. 2, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York. Her passion was books and she had a master's in library science. She spent her professional years as the Head Librarian for the Marlborough Public Library...

Oct 14, 2019

Dan Mueller passed away peacefully on Sept. 2, 2019. He was born on June 6, 1942, in Billings, the oldest of six children born to Joe and Virginia (Kennedy) Mueller. He was raised in Billings, where he attended Billings Central Catholic High School, graduating with the class of 1960. He attended Carroll College in Helena, where he earned his...

Oct 10, 2019

Helen Marie (Tade) Elkin,75, a longtime resident of Billings, peacefully passed on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, after a five-year battle with ovarian cancer at RiverStone Hospice House in Billings.

She was born on Jan. 24, 1944, in Glasgow. Helen moved to Billings in the late 1960s, where she worked 17 years at Poly Food Basket and First...

Oct 7, 2019

Ramona Ruth Dibble, age 86, passed away peacefully on Oct. 1, 2019, at Morning Star Senior Living in Billings, where she had resided for the past six years.

She was born on May 21, 1933, the second of six children, to Nellie (Muri) and Charles W. Dunn in Watford City, North Dakota. There, she attended school and...

Oct 4, 2019

Damon Lynn Gannett, 72, beloved husband, father, grandfather and Griz fan, passed away peacefully on Oct. 2, 2019, after a herculean three-and-a-half-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Damon was surrounded by his wife of over 50 years, all living children and his sister when he calmly and graciously drew his last breath, leaving a void that will not soon be...

Oct 2, 2019

Marjorie Ryan Tatarka died Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at the TenderNest Assisted Living facility in Billings. She was 88.

Marge was born on March 5, 1931, in Butte, to Loretta and Arthur "Lefty" Sullivan. She graduated from Girls' Central High School in 1949, and went on to earn a nursing degree from Carroll College in Helena.

Sep 29, 2019

Robert "Bob" Jacobson, loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and friend, passed away early Saturday morning, Sept. 21, 2019. from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Bob was born May 1, 1931, in Sims, ND. He was the third of nine children born to Alice and James Jacobson. He grew up on the family farm in Sims, and attended...

Sep 27, 2019

Lael Rae Iannucci died peacefully at Morningstar Senior Living, surrounded by her close family, on Sept. 19, 2019, after a short illness.

Lael was born on May 24, 1934, to Earl and Mollie Laughery in Joliet, the eldest of three (Artiss (Melvin) Hill and Terry (Rena) Laughery). The family lived in Fromberg, where Lael graduated high school....

Sep 27, 2019

Jon I. Harpole suddenly passed away on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at St. Vincent Healthcare, of a massive heart attack.

Jon was born on Oct. 25, 1974, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to John Girardi and Louise Dorthy Kaleikula Harpole. He was the youngest of five siblings. At the age of 6, Jon and family moved to Lindell, Texas,...

Sep 27, 2019

Newton Paul "Van" Van Maren Jr., 99, of Casper, Wyoming, died of natural causes on Sept. 21, 2019, at St. John's Lutheran Ministries in Billings, Montana.

A viewing will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at Bustard's Funeral Home, followed by a Rosary at 6 p.m. A funeral mass will be at 11 a.m....

Sep 25, 2019

Henry Seitz, 95, of Broadview, passed away Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019.

The only son of German immigrants, Andreas and Margareta Seitz, Henry was born Nov. 5, 1923, in Broadview. He graduated from Broadview High School in 1942. Henry married Arlys Paulson on Nov. 15, 1952. They farmed and ranched near Broadview and raised five children. Henry remained...

Sep 25, 2019

Lester Alan (Scheuerman, Jr.) Trudeau (known as L.A.), age 49, of Billings, fought his last mighty battle with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in the Billings Clinic Hospital. At 11:11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, he earned his wings and Heaven gained a beautiful Angel.

L.A., born in Lawton, OK, on Nov. 3, 1969, lived his life as...