Katherine “Kathe” Mary Kane, 73, of Drummond, passed away peacefully on Dec. 12, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was born on July 10, 1952, in Missoula.
    Kathe met Kenny Kane in high school, and they were married for 52 years. Together they raised two amazing sons in Drummond. Kathe was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother whose greatest joy in life was being surrounded by her family. The light in Kathe’s eyes when her grandchildren and great-grandchild pulled into her driveway was pure bliss. Not only did she take care of her sons and grandchildren, but she also cared for all the friends they brought into the family as well. Kathe spent her working years running Swede’s Corner, volunteering for the Drummond ambulance, and spent 16 years as a dispatcher in Philipsburg.
    Kathe enjoyed giving back to her community, she took pride in volunteering for the ambulance and other various opportunities that came her way. As an outstanding member of the Drummond community, Kathe was also known for showing her love through cooking, often bringing people together around her table and making sure no one ever left hungry.
    Kathe is survived by her husband, Kenny Kane; her daughter-in-law Sarah Kane; her grandchildren, Tyler Kane and partner Lori Russell, Katelynn Kane, Chase Kane, and Carson Kane; her great-granddaughter, Zoe Kane; her siblings, Patty Hanson (daughter Kallie Harris and son-in-law Tel Harris; grandkids Nalina, Saharra, and Royce Harris), Sandy Evans (son Denny Jacobsen), Vicki Hanni (husband Russell Hanni), Tom Gress (wife Bonni Gress; children Brandon Gress and Stefanie Silvan), Brother-in-law Marty Kane (wife Diane Kane; sons Scott and Ben Kane); and many other extended family members and dear friends.
    She was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony and Dolores Gress; her in-laws, Harry and Opal Kane; her sons, Michael Kane and Ryan “Cubby” Kane; her brother-in-law, Bill Hanson; and hers and Kenny’s beloved dog, Otis Kane.
    Kathe leaves behind a legacy of love and generosity that will live on through the many lives she has touched during her time here. Her warmth, kindness, and unwavering devotion to family, friends, and community will never be forgotten. A celebration of Kathe’s life will be held sometime in the spring, with the date to be announced.

    Once again, the angels took another beautiful soul back to heaven to join our heavenly Father. In the early morning hours of Dec. 13, Bernice May (Kopp) Verlanic, 79, passed away with her daughter, Kamala Marie Verlanic Ball, by her side at St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula.
    Bernice was born to Nick and Katherine (Ehlis) Kopp in Anaconda on Sept. 27, 1946. She joined her older siblings, Nick and Marianne.
    Bernice attended catholic schools in Anaconda before transferring to Anaconda High School. She met the love of her life, Fred Verlanic, on a double date in 1961. They were married in Idaho Falls in 1963. Fred considered himself a pretty lucky guy! Fred joined the United States Air Force in 1963. During this time, Bernice remained in Anaconda with her family. Their daughter, Kamala, was born in 1965 while Fred was overseas. In 1967, Fred returned from active duty, with son, Bruce, arriving in 1968. After living in Anaconda for a short while, they moved to Missoula, where Fred attended the University of Montana. Upon graduation, the family moved to Deer Lodge, where Fred started his career at the Montana Department of Corrections, and Bernice worked at Young’s Market for Jack and Dorothy Young, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. She later became a cook, followed by a kitchen manager, at the 4-B’s restaurant for many years. She also worked a few years at the I-90 Auto Plaza. Fred and Bernice relocated to the Swan Valley, where they both worked at the Swan River Youth Camp, later transitioning to the Swan River Boot Camp. This tiny woman with a beautiful smile completely changed career paths by becoming a drill instructor! When the boot camp relocated back to Deer Lodge, Fred and Bernice also relocated and continued working at the boot camp until her retirement.
    Bernice was well known to family and friends for her cooking and baking skills. In her later years, she loved nothing more than spending time with her great-granddaughter, Alaiya, in the kitchen baking special treats. She loved feeding everyone a good meal. Big family gatherings were one of her favorite things. She also loved gardening and camping, where she got to cook for everyone over an open fire.
    Bernice was preceded in death by her son, Bruce Charles Verlanic, and her grandson, Alec Mackenzie Tolon; her parents, Nick and Katie Kopp, and her sister Marianne (Kopp) Calnan. She joins sister-in-law and brother-in-law Dorothy and Jack Young, and sister-in-law Carol Kopp.
    She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Fred Verlanic, daughter Kamala Verlanic Ball and son-in-law Dave Ball, and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Shirley and Duane Colwell. Also surviving are grandchildren Trevor Denny, Rechelle (Verlanic) Anderson, Bridgette Verlanic, Alexandra Verlanic, Chris Ball and Marina Ball; five great-grandchildren, Alaiya, Jax, Addilyn, Braydon and Oaklynn.
    Services will be held at the Immaculate Conception Church in Deer Lodge at 11 a.m. on Jan. 3 with a luncheon to follow at St. Mary’s Hall. Donations can be made to a charity of one’s choice.
    Longfellow Finnegan Riddle has been privileged to care for Bernice and her family.

    Beverly Margaret Johnson Fjelstad, 75, passed peacefully at home on Dec. 5, 2025, with her husband, Curt, by her side. She was born March 6, 1950, in St. Paul, Minn. She joined big brother David to make up the happy family of Gordon and Lenore Johnson.
    Born into a family of educators, Bev grew up to be a passionate reader, a world traveler and an accomplished flute player. While attending college at Moorhead State, she met the love of her life, Curt Fjelstad, a farmer from Walcott, N.D. The big city girl happily transitioned to farm wife, as she and Curt started their family with daughter Sandra, followed two years later with son Curtis, Jr. They spent the first decade of their marriage exploring the perfect place to live until they settled in their forever home in Deer Lodge. Other than the 10 years she spent as part of the team at the Quality Inn/Super 8 hotel, Bev happily devoted her life to being the world’s best wife, mom, grandma and great grandma. After the kids were off to college, she spent the next 20 years traveling and helping Curt run their trucking business. Her diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis forced the couple to stay a little closer to home for the last 10 years, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to enjoy her home and family without measure. No couple has ever been more dedicated to each other than Curt and Bev.
    Bev was preceded in death by her parents and stepfather Merle Anderson, her father-in-law Clayton Fjelstad, mother-in-law Helen Hart, stepfather-in-law Duane Hart, stepsister Sharon Gortner, sisters-in-law Becky and Cecelia Fjelstad, stepbrother-in-law Bruce Hart, and granddaughter Laynie Bauman. She is survived by her devoted husband of 53 years, Curt; her daughter and son-in-law Sandy and Darrell Bauman; son Curtis; granddaughters Regan and Olivia; great-granddaughter Camden; and great-grandson Owen; brother David Johnson (Geri); sisters-in-law Mari Christensen (Russ), Peggy Erracart (John), Patti Fjelstad, and Angie Lommen (Curt); as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and friends who loved her enough to call her mom.
    In addition, the family would like to express their love and gratitude for the amazing team at Trek Hospice, especially Robin, Wendy, Trish and Kelsey, whose care and love have made all the difference.
    At her request, no immediate service is planned but a celebration of life will be held next year.

    Gary Edward “Flip” Erb, 93, passed away on Friday, Nov. 28, at his residence. He was born on Aug. 17, 1932, in the Missoula Elmore Hospital.
    Gary’s sperm donor, Phil Erb, divorced Margaret prior to Gary’s birth and he, as well as the extended Erb family, remained non-entities physically and financially throughout Gary’s life.
    Gary’s preschool years were spent with his older sister, Fay “Mickey,” and Margaret in the Missoula area where she struggled to support the three of them during the depression. Eventually, Margaret resigned parenting and allowed Gary and Fay to be separated for approximately five years to live with relatives at the Missoula Saint Francis Xavier boarding school and with regional unrelated families who took in boarders.
    When Gary reached about 10 years old, he and Fay were reunited and taken in by their maternal grandparents, Frank and Rose Roberts, who lived in Deer Lodge. Frank was an elderly retired Northern Pacific Railroad Bonita/Clinton section foreman who maintained their small sparse two-room rented home while Rose was employed as a practical nurse/matron and resided at the Warm Springs Mental Hospital. Rose traveled occasionally back and forth between Warm Springs and Deer Lodge on the Northern Pacific “Galloping Goose” as neither grandparent owned, nor was capable of driving a vehicle.
    Their grandfather died when Gary and Fay entered Powell County High School as freshmen, requiring them to live alone for two years. Fay married early in their junior year and departed Deer Lodge. Gary remained in the house by himself except for continued visits by his grandmother.
    Gary worked as seasons and schooling permitted, delivering newspapers, pin setting in a bowling alley, pool hall and restaurant dishwasher, and immediately joined the U.S. Navy, where he qualified to become a Naval Aviation Cadet. Immaturity led Gary to resign after six months of flight training and returned to Deer Lodge with an honorable discharge.
    With the ongoing United Nations action in Korea and the expectation of being drafted into the U.S. military, he decided to enlist into the U.S. Army. Eventually, after basic training and Ft. Benning, Ga., parachute jump school, he was assigned in March 1953 to the original Tenth and Seventy-Seventh Special Forces Groups, spending the remainder of his enlistment at Smoke Bomb Hill, Fort Bragg, N.C., receiving his honorable discharge in June 1955.
    Gary applied for a position with the U.S. Forest Service Smoke Jumper program in Missoula shortly before his U.S. Army departure, believing he had a strong chance of acceptance because of his military training and experience. He had earned senior jumping status, jump master, rigger and heavy drop qualified. He had also undergone mountain climbing training in Colorado and glacier climbing in Wyoming. The Forest Service responded that Gary was not qualified. That rejection remained as a lifelong regret.
    Shortly after returning to Deer Lodge from the army, Gary was offered a ride in a pickup truck by Alice Brenton. This fortuitous encounter resulted in a whirlwind courtship ending with their marriage in Butte by a blind JP in February 1956. With GI eligibility, and Alice’s urging, Gary enrolled in the fall of 1957 at the Montana School of Mines in Butte. Ongoing, Gary worked as a Butte miner, as a head driller in an open pit phosphate mine near Garrison, at the ACM smelter in Anaconda, railroad switchman and as a welder’s helper on a natural gas pipeline between Deer Lodge and Missoula.
    Meanwhile two daughters, Kary and Kim, were added to Alice and Gary’s family. They then moved to Missoula where Gary graduated from the University of Montana in June 1961. Gary spent the summers in Missoula employed by the U.S. Forest Service mineral survey investigating mining claims throughout Region One, including paid extended horse back trips into the Bob Marshall and Absaroka Wildernesses.
    After receiving his UM degree, the U.S. Naval Photo Interpretation Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., offered Gary a photo interpreter position, where he remained for 11 months. During this period, Alice gave birth to their son, Montana, a name Alice agreed to in a weak moment shortly after leaving the delivery room.
    A career change occurred at this time when Gary was notified that he had been accepted as a Central Intelligence Agent Officer Trainee. He became a National Clandestine Service staff/case operations officer upon completion of a year plus training in foreign intelligence collection and paramilitary operations at a Virginia facility and Panama.
    In 1964 another daughter, Shawn, joined the family in Virginia as they were preparing for Gary’s initial overseas assignment in northern Laos for two years where he lived with and supported indigenous tribesmen who opposed Communist Lao forces during the Laos civil war. Several overseas and domestic assignments occurred thereafter with family accompaniment depending upon the security / condition of the foreign area concerned.
    Gary retired overtly as a CIA NCS staff officer and followed that up with two other retirements as a CIA independent contractor that altogether spanned approximately 34 years. He participated in covert action, foreign liaison, paramilitary and counter terrorism operations, concluding his career as a training officer at the same facility where his career began. He was active in Panama, Thailand, Laos, South Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Jamaica/Bahamas, Spain, Pakistan, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan in addition to the U.S.
    He climbed Mount Powell near Deer Lodge on Aug. 17 1959 (Hebgen Lake earthquake) and again on his birthday at the age of 65. Twice, in his early 80s, he made the trek to the “M” on Mount Sentinel near the U of MT in Missoula.
    In retirement, Gary was a volunteer VA driver into his late 80s; the Montana Adopt a Highway cleanup program for 15 years; America Reads tutor at Polson Linderman School for five years; and, as an avid Griz fan, was a Mission Valley Grizzly Scholarship Association board member for several years.
    Gary is preceded in death by his daughter Kary Erickson; maternal grandparents; sister, Fay “Mickey;” 15-year-old granddaughter in Missoula on Dec 26, 2009; in-laws Al and Kathryn Brenton; surrogate parents, Margaret and Phil.
    Gary is survived by his wife Alice of 69 years, (missed 70 years by 2 months); daughters, Kim Erb and Shawn Erb Cearley, son Montana “Kip” Erb; granddaughters, Erin Dunn, Caitlin Erb, Hanna Erb and Jacey Erb; grandson Brannon Cearley and great-grandson Dominick; all but adopted daughter Debbie Franck and children Chad, Cara and Christina; nieces Teresa Sullivan, Shannon Neubauer and Kathy Mullins; nephews Brad Neubauer and Guy Neubauer.
    Gary’s request was to be cremated, and at his request, no services will be rendered. A wake service will be held during warmer times. Memories and condolences may be sent to the family at www.lakefuneralhomeandcremation.com. Arrangements are under the care of The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory.