Frances Jesse Liebig, age 97

passed away January 29, 2007 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana. She was born October 15, 1909 in Kalispell, Montana to Frank F and LuLu Mae (McMahon) Liebig.

Frances was raised for a brief time at the head of McDonald Lake in a USFS Cabin before Glacier Park became a park. Her family moved to Libby where Frances attended school as a child. Her father was transferred to Kalispell, where Frances and her siblings all attended school at the Central School and also Flathead High School. As a girl, she summered on Lake McDonald as a nanny for several families and friends vacationing on the Lake. She enjoyed her time in Glacier Park, and gained much knowledge about the botany and flora of the park, and used it throughout her entire life. The animals also became part of her life forever, and were always in her memories and stories of the Park. She hiked the many trails made by her own father, a forest ranger, and fished the lakes by herself and with her friends.

She became a fire lookout in the Park during the war, on Mt Brown for two summers, and on Canyon Lookout. She loved her work as a lookout and had many stories to tell about hiking down through the woods for a half mile to get water at a creek for her drinking and cooking. The grizzlies, mountain goats and hikers, became her excitement during her stay high on the mountaintops.

She attended the Montana Western Division of the University at Dillon, Montana and the University of Seattle in Washington. She also attended the University of Montana at Missoula during the summers. She became a teacher and taught at many country schools in Montana, including Nirada, D’Aste, Great Falls, Plentywood, and Elmo.

In 1945 she stretched her wings and moved to California where she found employment as an Assistant Auditor on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. She remained at that wonderful job for fifteen years and enjoyed all the cultural events in the area during that time.

In 1960 she returned to Montana and ranched with her brother, Carl, on the Thompson River, west of Kalispell, where she and her brother took care of their mother, Lulu. Frances retired from ranching in 1983, and moved to the Flathead Lake area, and made her own little mountain paradise high above the lake, which she enjoyed very much.

She will also be remembered by all of the friends, Tom Watts of Kellogg, Idaho, Bob Watts of Kent, Washington, Bill Sanders of Finley Point, MT, Elmer Bender of Missoula, MT, Ethel and Ralph Videtto of Pleasant Valley, California, and all others that loved her and cared for her over the years and helped her stay on her mountaintop. Her intelligence and spirit inspired all of them over the years. She was the tiny little lady known to them as, “Frances of the Forest”.

Frances was preceded in death, by her mother, Lulu, and her father, Frank F. Liebig; her brothers and sisters, Carl G. Liebig, Lyman Liebig, Margaret Miller, Irma Lyght, and Jean Soldowski.

Frances is survived by many nieces and nephews; David and Dorothy Lyght of Thompson Falls, MT; Connie Lyght Grant of Thompson Falls, MT; Bonnie Lyght of Anchorage, Alaska; Dennis and Barbara Lyght of Thompson Falls, MT; Delbert Lyght, of Alaska; Charles and Diane Miller of Hamilton, MT; Albert and Nancy Liebig of Eureka, MT; Theodore Soldowski of Huson, MT; Rosemary and Rudy Polamo of Huson, MT; Darryl Lyght of Libby, MT; Carl F and Bonnie Liebig of Thompson River, MT and many grandnieces and grandnephews, and great grand nieces and great grand nephews, and her long-time friend and caregiver, Marjorie Sizemore.

Graveside services will be held at a later date at the Conrad Memorial Cemetery. Frances will be cremated and laid to rest beside her mother and father, Frank and Lulu Liebig and her brother, Carl G. Liebig.

Roberta (Hume) Field Nutting

died of natural causes on January 30, 2007 4 days before her 88th birthday.

Roberta was born in Kalispell on February 3, 1919, the 14th child born to Robert and Hannah (Brockton) Hume, early pioneers in the Kalispell area. She graduated from Kalispell High School and married Ronald Keen Field of Whitefish in 1936. They raised three children primarily in Denton, MT where he was a manager of Denton Flying Service. In the late ‘50’s Roberta and Ronnie built a bowling alley in Denton and Roberta operated the restaurant for 7 years. They were moving the bowling to Eureka in 1965 when Ronnie suffered a fatal heart attack at his parent’s home in Whitefish. She operated the bowling alley until the early 70’s. Roberta married Art Nutting of Eureka in 1970. As an active Senior Citizen of the year. Art died in 1993 and Roberta eventually moved back the Kalispell area and settled in Bigfork in 1999.

Surviving children include sons Richard N Field of Bigfork, Dwight Keen (Beth) Field of Ferine, BC and daughter, Bobbin K. (Ken) Maki of Belt. Catherine Brownlow, Helena is the sole survivor if Bert’s 13 sibling. Other survivors include 9 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her love of land, flowers, and nature remained with her all her life. She planted trees, landscaped her yard and beautified her surroundings until the autoimmune disease, Myasthenia Gravis so weakened her body she could not work outside,

Her remains have been cremated and service will be held at a later date with burial in Whitefish cemetery near her beloved Ronnie.