August 26th, 2020

​Gwendolyn Mary Cooper Allen
Gwendolyn Mary Cooper Allen  Was born to Walter  and Audrey Cooper On July 10, 1938. She was nine of 15 children. Gwen joined her family in Heaven on August 17, 2020. She was a long time resident of Powell County, she spent her early years in Emery and attended school in Deer Lodge. She married George Allen in 1955 and they had five girls.
Gwen had various jobs in Deer Lodge one of which was a cook at  4-B’s for 25 years.  Her and George owned the local Army Navy store. 
She loved all babies and pets. She loved jokes, water fights and fire crackers were her favorite pranks.  She will always be remembered for her kind heart and loving spirit. Gwen knew no strangers and if you met her more than once you were part of the family.
She is survived by her four daughters: Sheila Fanning, Dixie (Rudy) Holmes, Dora (Terry) Vande Hoven and Donna (Jeff) Rucker. Her legacy includes nine grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband George Allen and her daughter Sharon, her mother and father, brothers and sisters, numerous nieces nephews and cousins.

Bernard K. Barton Sr.
Bernard K. Barton Sr. was born September 24, 1938 in the Old Murray Hospital in Butte to Lester and Alma (Raffath) Barton.
Bart attended school in Butte, Warm Springs, Anaconda, and graduated from Powell County High School in 1956. He joined the USMC reserve in 1955 and upon graduation joined the active duty Marines and was honorably discharged in 1961.
He married Mary K. Burton from Rennselaer, Ind. while in the service and from this union they had a daughter, Kim and sons Greg and Bernard K. Jr. Mary K. passed away in 1984.
After being discharged from the Marine Corp., he became a policeman for the City of Polson and then joined the Montana Highway Patrol in 1964. He was stationed in Broadus, Libby, and retired from the MHP in 1985. After retiring, he became a Deputy Sheriff for Powell County from 1985 to 1991. He finally retired after being the coordinator of Disaster and Emergency Services in 2013.
Bart was a certified EMT class coordinator, member of the Volunteer Ambulance, Webelo Scout leader, American Red Cross Disaster Instructor, 4-H leader and an alumni member of both 4-H & FFA. He put together the Powell County Search & Rescue and Junior 4 x 4. 
In April of 1987 he married Marion Yaskulski and they celebrated 33 years of marriage this year. They were members of the Civil Air Patrol, Search and Rescue, and also instigated the Big Sky Draft Horse Expo in 1995.  Together they both enjoyed traveling, camping, fishing, and visiting family. 
Bart was preceded in death by his parents, Les and Alma; wife Mary K., son Bernard K. Jr., and infant son, Greg. 
He is survived by his loving wife Marion; daughter Kim (Matt) Griffin of Prineville, Ore.; stepson, Jim (Alissa) Yaskulski of Great Falls; stepdaughter, Suzann (Chris) Smaldone of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; sister in law, Judie Burton of Merrimac, Wis.; nine grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and his faithful dog Brodie.
Donations may be made to the Marine Corp. Toys for Tots, Rialto Theater, Big Sky Draft Horse Expo or the donor’s choice.
A Celebration of Life will be Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 11 a.m. in the Rialto Theater. Please bring a mask and practice social distancing.

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Glen Donald Ellis
​At approximately 4:15 p.m. on Monday August 10, 2020 Glen passed away peacefully with his family by his side at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula as a result of a long heroic fight with cancer. Glen was 79 years old. Glen was born in Deer Lodge on March 27, 1941 to Orbrie Stratton and Frances Grace Ellis. 
Glen graduated Powell County High School in 1959 where he was involved in music, theatre and a class officer. He completed one year at Evangel College before transferring to Seattle Pacific College where he graduated in music education. He furthered his education at the University of Michigan and received a PhD in music. Any professional position he was in used his skills, abilities and love for education. His students loved and respected him tremendously because of his unwavering passion for music, teaching and encouraging his students to be the best they could be outside of the classroom as well as in the classroom. Later Glen went into real estate and used his gifts to help educate clients to lead them through the process of purchasing a house.
Glen was an avid reader almost always reading multiple books at once. It was not unusual to have stacks of books in various locations of the house waiting to be read. The joy of entering a bookstore could not be matched but much except maybe his love for coffee, really good coffee. He sought connection with all whom he came into contact with whether at the grocery store, getting gas or people he worked with. He was good at making you feel important, heard and understood. He possessed a quiet strength that could calm anyone.  These  traits that were put to good use when he volunteered for hospice. He could put patient and family members at ease and comforted them well. He would spend hours talking, reading, singing or just sitting  with patients. 
Leading the Deer Lodge Community Choir for the past several years, choral music was his favorite and he loved spending time searching for the perfect musical pieces for the choir to sing. This natural skill of gathering people together and teaching was a thread that ran through his entire life.
Glen is survived by his wife Dorothy Baldwin Ellis, daughters, Sherrill (Norm) Kraakmo,  Karen (Ryan) Potteiger, Jill (Troy) Russell,  grandchildren, Jordan Kraakmo, Sara Kraakmo, Christian Vander Weide, Madison Russell, Emma Russell, Harper Russell, sister Gwen Ellis and brother Ray Ellis.
Please visit www.buttefuneralhome.com to offer a condolence or share a memory of Glen. Axelson Funeral and Cremation Services has been privileged to care for Glen and his family.

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Laurence Thomas Hansen
Laurence Thomas Hansen, 87, of Avon, died August 18, 2020 at home following a long illness.  He was born January 25, 1933 at the family home near Gold Creek, the second son of Laurence H. and Marie Gertrude (Lingenfelter) Hansen.  
Larry grew up in the Gold Creek/Drummond area.  He worked for various ranchers in the area until he was drafted in March 1953.  Larry served with the Army’s 3rd Division in Korea Sept. 1953 – Jan. 1955 and was honorably discharged.  Upon returning home, he worked for Vin Lowery and Albert Beck in the Deer Lodge Valley. He enjoyed riding bareback broncs and bowling.  In the late 1950s Larry worked weekends for rodeo livestock contractor Oral Zumwalt and often told stories about his famous broncs.  
In May 1960, Larry became a wrangler at Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park. During the summer of 1964 he met Patrecia Thomae who worked in reservations at Mammoth. After a whirlwind courtship, they married September 19, 1964, and would have celebrated their 56th anniversary this year. 
They made their home in Deer Lodge and Larry worked at the Montana Phosphate/Cominco American mine near Garrison, but he continued to help ranchers on weekends.  In April 1965, they moved to Avon to manage a ranch for Soren Beck.  They were blessed with children Yvonne and John.  
September 1973, the family moved into Avon and Larry returned to the phosphate mine where he worked until it closed in Dec. 1993 and he retired.  He loved working with horses and cattle and continued to help ranching friends until 2009 when health issues forced him to quit. 
Larry was a quiet, honest, hardworking man with a wonderful sense of humor who enjoyed people. He loved his wife and children and adored his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He encouraged them in work, 4-H, sports, and other activities. One of his favorite past-times was fishing with them.  
In 1958 he provided horses for and participated as a cavalry soldier in the Deer Lodge historic pageant “Gold is in the Grass.” During the late 1990s he drove a team of mules on several trips for the Overland Cruises wagon train, volunteered at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS demonstrating haying with horses, and helped with the Big Sky Draft Horse Expo for 10 years. He served as vice president and president of the Avon Community Club, and helped with the Avon Flea Market and BBQ. Larry willingly helped anyone who asked.  
Larry is survived by his wife, Pat, daughter Yvonne Hanson (Duane), Deer Lodge;  son John (Katy), Three Forks;  grandchildren Crystal Gomez (Chris), Amanda Enger, Liz Enger,  JT, Zane and Carey Hansen, six great-grandchildren; his brother, James Hansen of Gold Creek, nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Nels and Chuck, and sister, Emma.  
Special thanks to Avon EMTs Jeff Janke and Heather Quigley, Compassus Hospice staff Whitney, Jayme, Sarah, Mikayla, Jessica, Karrie, Chaplain Steve, and members of the Avon community who have been a special blessing to us. 
At Larry’s request, there will be no funeral service. Visitation at Jewell Funeral Home in Deer Lodge will be 5-7 p.m. Friday, August 28.  A graveside service will be 2 p.m. Saturday, August 29 at the Avon Cemetery. Pall Bearers are JT Hansen, Zane Hansen, Duane Hanson, Jeff Janke, Jim Bignell and John Bignell.
 A reception will follow at the Avon Community Hall.  Memorials may be sent to the Avon Ambulance, Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS Foundation or organization of your choice.

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​Dorothy Elaine Scribner Wozny
Dorothy Elaine Scribner Wozny passed away Aug 18, 2020 surrounded by her loving family. She was born to Fred and Mary Scribner on Aug 4, 1934 in Bashaw Township, Wis.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Minneapolis to become a telephone operator but then met Airman Donald Wozny. They married and moved to Texas where Donald was stationed. After several moves the family settled in Deer Lodge. Dorothy loved to bowl and was an avid reader. She always had a garden and looked forward to the day she could pick out petunias. Later in life she picked up a paintbrush and discovered a love of painting with oils.
Dorothy is survived by her sister Eleanor; daughters Monnie (Mike) Fay, Barbara Wozny, Sandra (Eddie) Hesson, Susan Becker and son Scott (Debbie) Wozny; she will be missed by 11 grandkids and numerous great-grandkids. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Vern, Cecil, and Fred Jr; sister Carol; husband Donald; grandson Joshua and an infant granddaughter.
The family would like to thank Frontier Hospice for their care and support. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Kohrs Library kohrslibrarymt.org. A memorial will be held at a later date.