Rose Boyd

Our Mom, Rose Boyd, left this world on March 25 and went to be with her loving husband, Neil. Rose was born in Chelsea, England on Aug. 19, 1920. She met the man of her dreams while he was serving in England during World War II and she was serving in the Women's Land Army of England. They married in 1944 and she traveled all the way to America on a ship coming through Ellis Island. She then rode a train across the United States to Neil's family in eastern Montana where she waited for him to join her. From this union there were four children — Rosemary, Carol Ann (Candy), Sherry Lynn and Danny. They lived in several places around Montana before settling in Hungry Horse in 1952. Rose was very active in the lives of her children and their activities as well as in the community they chose for their home. She belonged to many of the local organizations, including the VFW Auxiliary, Fireman's Auxiliary, local scouting troops, the PTA and was a member of the local Civil Air Patrol when it was active in the 1950s.

Rose came to the United States in 1945 as a war bride and one of her proudest achievements was becoming an American citizen in March of 1958. Known as "Granny" to all of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their friends, Rose was an integral part of their lives.

She often accompanied each family on vacations and many wonderful memories were created. Returning to England several times for visits and being able to have one of her children accompany her each visit and see her homeland was a dream come true for her.

Rose was also an avid Atlanta Braves baseball fan and one of her biggest thrills was attending a Braves game in Atlanta.

She loved gardening and in addition to her outdoor flowers, she had a jungle of houseplants — and the green thumb to keep them thriving. Other interests included crafts, knitting, crocheting and ceramics, providing many beautiful keepsakes for her family and friends. She was always available to accompany a grandchild on a field trip and also did slide presentations of England for several classes of schoolchildren.

Rose was preceded in death by her husband Neil, daughter Candy, mother and father Alice and Charles Allbrook and two sisters.

She is survived by her two daughters Rosemary (Butch) Brester of Kalispell and Sherry Lynn (Dan) Martin of Burbank, Wash, her son Dan Boyd of Missoula, as well as nine grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, two nephews in England and many nieces and nephews scattered around the States.

Though she was short in stature she was great in spirit and an integral part of her family's lives. Her struggles with Alzheimer's stole her from us first and a long journey it was.

"Mom you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, may you rest in peace until we meet you again."

A visitation was held Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at the Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls. A funeral service was Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at the Columbia Mortuary and burial followed at St. Richard's Cemetery.