Patricia Thompson

Patricia Lou (Roney) Thompson, 77, of Whitefish, died Sept. 9, 2009, at Heritage Place in Kalispell.

Patricia was born May 5, 1932, in Champaign, Ill., to Genevieve (Crawford) Roney and James Roney. She spent her childhood in Champaign.

At age 14, she lost her father to colon cancer. She quit school to work at the soda counter at a local drug store to help support her family at that time. It was especially important to Pat that her younger brother, Don, finish his schooling.

While in Champaign, Pat met and married a young Air Force recruit from Montana, Cecil Norman Thompson. They were married on April 23, 1950.

As an Air Force family, Pat and Cecil lived and traveled all over the U.S. and some bases abroad. Together they had five children. After Cecil retired from the military, the family settled in Whitefish.

Throughout their journeys together, Pat was a homemaker and loving mother. Her greatest pleasures in life were spending time with and teaching her children — and later her grandchildren. Pat was a good cook and great provider. Later in life, she enjoyed putting puzzles together and solving crossword puzzles. She was also active in the Whitefish Women of the Moose.

She was preceded in death by her father James Roney; parents Genevieve and Ted Walden; husband Cecil Thompson; and younger brother Donald Roney.

Patricia is survived by five children, Sheron Ramaley and husband John, of Minneapolis, Minn., Karen Sparks and husband Robert Shanks, of Kalispell, Lawrence Thompson and wife Debbie, of Houston, Mo., Sandra Thompson and husband Donald Baumann, of Minneapolis, and Gary Thompson and wife Cindy, of Chandler, Ariz.; 13 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; brother James Roney, of Champaign, Ill.; and sister Bonnie Reed, of St. Joseph, Ill.

Funeral services took place Sept. 11, 2009, at Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish. Interment followed at Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Kalispell.

Estella Graham

Estella Goldine Graham, loving mother and wife, passed away Sept. 16, 2009, at the Ponderosa Pines Nursing Home, in Billings.

She was born Oct. 26, 1922, in Glendive to Michael and Laura Vernes. At age 13, Stella and her family moved to Billings. She graduated from Billings Senior High School.

On Nov. 22, 1941, she married her high school sweetheart, Robert Graham. They were married 67 years.

Robert was an engineer for the Northern Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway for 41 years. That took them to Livingston, where they lived for 11 years, and 11 years more in Billings before they moved to Whitefish, where Bob finally retired after 12 more years with the railroad. They then returned to Billings, as this was always Stella's favorite place.

Stella's home and family were her passion. She was a marvelous cook and decorator, and she was extremely talented in painting and poetry.

Stella and Bob raised two children, Judy and Nancy. They loved to golf, dance and travel to visit their children.

Stella was preceded in death by her brother, Arnold "Bud" Vernes, of Billings.

She is survived by her husband Robert; daughters Judy Ricketts, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Nancy Graham, of Billings; sister Kay Jones, of Mesa, Ariz.; grandchildren Rawnda Tanner, John Burke and Jeffrey Richards; and great grandchild Taylor Smith.

Memorial services took place Sept. 21, 2009, at American Lutheran Church, in Billings.

Memorials may be made to the Shrine Transportation Fund or to a charity of choice.

Rosalie Berg

Rosalie K. Berg, 70, a longtime resident of Whitefish, died Sept. 17, 2009, at her home.

Born July 10, 1939, at Great Falls to Leonard and Josephine Shortell, Rosalie came to Whitefish in 1945 with her family, where she attended grade school and high school.

She traveled throughout the U.S. with her husband Jim Berg while he worked in mining and construction. They resided in Alaska for eight years, where her husband preceded her in death in 1990.

In October of that year, she returned to Whitefish, where she resided at the family home until the time of her death.

She will be remembered for her kindness and generosity towards all who knew her.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; and her brother Donald.

She is survived by her brother Dan Shortell, of Columbia Falls.

Private family graveside services will be held at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

Frances Wicen

Frances A. Wicen, 84, passed away Sept. 12, 2009, in Whitefish.

She was born July 19, 1925, in Argenta, a child of the Great Depression. Attending a one-room schoolhouse and sharing a two-room house with her parents and five siblings, she often recalled how her parents, George and Lillie, shared what little they had with the surrounding neighbors.

She later moved to the Centerville area of Butte after her father obtained employment at the Argo Copper Mine.

She married Robert Wicen there on June 27, 1943, and shortly thereafter moved to Whitefish where she remained.

Frances was one of the first Whitefish Carnival penguins, then a traveling goodwill group making people aware of the jewel that was Whitefish.

She managed and owned the historic Sampson block on Second Street until 1978.

She was a lifetime member of the Women of the Moose and a member of the Rebeccas.

Ever busy in retirement, Frances was an election commissioner for a few years, a greeter and member of the altar guild at the Episcopal Church, and a supporter of the Flathead Sheriff's Posse through her companion Dale Howke.

She was preceded in death by her sisters Martha Van Ham and Georgia Mae French,and brother James Knapp.

Frances is survived by her daughter; four granddaughters; four great grandchildren; sisters Margaret Cargill, of Columbia Falls, and Betty Rickett, of Billings; and by many loving nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews, and friends and neighbors who stayed close to her until the end.

She was laid to rest near her family at Glacier Gardens and is honored by a short biography painted on one of the buildings on Second Street in downtown Whitefish.

Maxine Norgaard

Maxine E. (Max) Norgaard, 56, died Sept. 15, 2009, at her home in Whitefish.

She was born in Spokane, Wash., on April 25, 1953, to Bill and Marty Armstrong and came to Whitefish with her family in 1965, where she attended school, graduating from Whitefish High School in 1971.

She married Melvin Norgaard July 12, 1980, in Glendive. She had worked as cashier and manager at the Glendive Mini-Mart from 1982 to 1988 and returned to Whitefish in 1989. For the past 11 1/2 years, she had worked at the Town Pump in Whitefish.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents Eli and Alta Jones and Donald and Elin Armstrong; aunts Maxine Jackson and Lellian Kalerea; and brother Gordon Armstrong

She is survived by her husband Melvin; her parents Donald Armstrong and wife Bill and Margaret Armstrong and husband Marty, of Whitefish; children Jenny Swinehart, of Belgrade, and Holli Norgaard, Michael Norgaard and Ryan Norgaard, all of Whitefish; granddaughter Elizabeth Norgaard; grandson Dalton Carpenter; sisters Debra Armstrong, of Roosevelt, Utah, Gail Shepard and husband Shorty, of Whitefish, Linda Hutchins and husband Joe, of Columbia Falls, and Donna Bruner, of Whitefish; brothers Ronald Armstrong and wife Magdalina, of Aloha, Ore., Donald Armstrong and wife Susan, of Ogden, Utah, and Randall Armstrong and wife Leslie, of Columbia Falls; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral mass took place Sept. 21, 2009, at St. Charles Boromeo Catholic Church in Whitefish, with rite of interment following at Glacier Memorial Gardens.