February 02nd, 2022

Margaret Delia “Dede” Cook
Life-long Powell County resident Margaret Delia “Dede” Cook, 90, passed away Friday, January 21, 2022, at St. Patrick Hospital, of natural causes.
Dede was a “Wales Girl.”  She was born November 11, 1931 to Eugene Earl and Ruperta “Ruby” (Coughlin) Wales of Helmville.  She was raised on the Wales Brother’s Ranch and attended Helmville schools.  First year of school she attended the Blackfoot School, 5 miles from the ranch.  She boarded with Uncle Dave and Aunt Lucy (Bignell) Coughlin.  The next seven years, she attended school in Helmville and boarded with her Mom’s cousin, Francis (McCormick) Potts.  She and her sisters attended high school at Sacred Heart Academy in Missoula under the care of The Sisters of Providence.  She graduated class of 1949 and went on to earn a 2-year Teaching Certificate from the College of Education in Great Falls in June of 1951.  She married Glenn Dean Cook June 25, that same year.  They had met and dated when she was 15 and shared 70 years of marriage. 
Dede was a devoted wife, and mother of 12 who kept the books, managed the calls and billing for Glenn’s excavation business and even drove the dump truck if needed.  She substitute taught in School District #1 after her youngest reached Jr. High.  As a member of The Immaculate Conception Parish, she served as a Eucharistic minister, parish council member, sacristan, and religious education instructor.  She provided visitation and communion to the sick at Colonial Manor.  She belonged to the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers.  She was an adept card player and had time for everyone.  She shared her wit and humor until her invitation to heaven. 
Dede was welcomed into heaven by her parents, and her infant son, Charles (1955); her brothers: infant Hugh Wales, and Ed Wales; sisters Anna Marie (Sidney Duane Cooper); Ruperta Jean (George Larson); Elizabeth Joan (Frank Pope); Francis Bernadette (Pete Senecal); Shirley Wales; daughter-in-law Tina (Craig) Cook; nephews Tom and Rodney Senecal, and Michael Larson; Glenn’s mother, Ruth, and husband Art (Hitz); Glenn’s brother Chuck and wife, Joan, and their son, Charlie.
She is survived by her husband Glenn, sister-in-law Esther (Boyle) Wales of Selah, WA; sister-in-law, Bonnie Berg and husband, Phil, of Deer Lodge, and 11 children:  Earl and Linda (Sexton), Milwaukie, OR; Kevin, Missoula; Cary and Jan (Harris), Billings; Andrew and Patricia (Parker), Deer Lodge; Laurie and Rick Hunter, Deer Lodge; Peggy and David Mannix, Helmville; Joel and Sandra (Carlson), Portland, OR; Maury and Karen (Dumezich), Butte; Maria and Johnny Jay Senecal, Avon; Tom and Shauna (Balkovetz), Great Falls; Brad and Katie (Harper), Helena; 36 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews and families.
Funeral services are pending.

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Nancy Taylor Farel
August 7, 1945–January 9, 2022
Nancy Elizabeth Taylor Farel of Boulder died on Jan. 9, 2022 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 76.
Nancy was born on Aug. 7, 1945 in Bozeman, Montana and adopted at birth by Ethleen Muriel (Ryan) Taylor and William Richard Taylor. 
A very loved only child, she was raised in Anaconda, Billings and Deer Lodge, Mont., where her father served as an attorney and district judge. Nancy enjoyed horseback riding growing up and as her Alzheimer’s progressed told many stories about her youthful adventures with horses. 
After graduating from Powell County High School in 1963, she went to the University of Colorado Boulder, where she graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a teaching certificate. She was a talented artist, particularly in watercolor and pottery, and enjoyed her time as a student art teacher at Casey Junior High School and Baseline Junior High School.
She met the love of her life, Charles A. Farel, in January 1969, on a blind date at a dinner party orchestrated by their respective bosses (who were married to one another). It was truly love at first sight and after a six-month courtship, Nancy and Charlie married at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Boulder on July 12, 1969.
They welcomed their daughter Alexis (Lexie) Elizabeth Farel on Oct. 21, 1973. A few years later, Charlie had the good fortune to be given a one-year overseas assignment with IBM in Southampton, England. While living there, they traveled extensively in Europe, where Nancy collected the prized antique glass citrus reamers she proudly displayed on her kitchen wall. 
When Lexie was young, Nancy enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom, school-homeroom mom, Girl Scout troop leader, dance mom and swim team mom. She and Charlie were incredibly supportive parents and attended every one of Lexie’s competitions and activities.
In 1982, Nancy started a color consulting and image styling business, which evolved into Nancy Taylor Farel and Associates. It was a perfect career that maximized all her strengths: a keen eye for color, incredible artistic style and her desire to help people feel great and look their best.  
She had a tremendous impact on the clients and businesses that she worked with, creating individual color palettes based on each one’s unique coloring and teaching them how best to use color ourselves (aka The Talk). She also choreographed fabulous fashion shows, hosted private shopping events with stores, worked in many, many closets, shopped endlessly for her clients and selected the perfect eyeglasses for all. People came from all over the world to work with her. 
Nancy served as a board member of Fashion Group International, which took her on travels across the U.S., and to Australia, London, and France. She was not only an incredibly talented stylist, but also became life-long friends with many of her clients. You could tell who she worked with because they were always the best dressed in the room.
Nancy, a talented chef, and Charlie, a fantastic bartender, loved entertaining friends and Charlie’s StorageTek business associates at their stunning home. Together, they traveled the world, collected beautiful contemporary art, enjoyed opera performances, ballroom danced the nights away and shared a deep and loving relationship until their love story was cut short when Charlie passed unexpectedly in 2000. 
Nancy was an incredible grandma to her two grandsons, who named her Nano. She was fully devoted and extremely proud of the boys, enjoying time with them each and every day. She never missed an opportunity to be with them and, just as she and Charlie had with Lexie, attended every school event, hockey game, swim meet and water polo game. An energetic and loving grandma, she enjoyed many adventures and travels with Lexie and Linus and the boys.
Despite the challenges Nancy faced, she always remained positive and lived life with zest. She was a vibrant, caring, humorous, engaging and beautiful person and she will be deeply missed.
She is survived by her daughter Alexis (Lexie) Wang, son-in-law Linus Wang, and beloved grandsons Charlie and Jamie Wang, all of Boulder.
She was preceded in death by her husband, mother and father.  
M.P. Murphy and Associates are handling local arrangements. A celebration of life will be held at a later date due to the COVID pandemic.  
Contributions may be made to to Dress for Success Denver at denver.dressforsuccess.org or TGTHR (formerly Attention Homes) at tgthr.org, two organizations Nancy supported. 

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Guy Frank Stoner
Guy Frank Stoner, age 76, of Elliston, Montana, passed away on January 19, 2022. He had been in failing health for quite a while with a lot of injuries over the years. His body said, “I’ve had enough of this, please let me rest in peace without pain, so I can hunt and fish again.”
Guy was born on July 23, 1945 in Helena, Montana to Frank and Edith Stoner. He lived his whole life in the Sixth Ward until he moved to Elliston. On August 11, 1967 he married his soulmate, Mary Jo Miller, also from the Sixth Ward. They had a lot of fun and adventures in all those 54 1/2 years. They began their little family with their son Steven in 1968 and then their daughter Mikal in 1969.
Guy worked his whole life. Starting very young, with a paper route, a route that his children eventually had as well. Then his other jobs were working at his brother, Jack Smith‘s gas station, and many other gas stations. He also worked for Associated Foods as a teenager and worked at the Anaconda company where he ultimately quit to work for many construction contractors. In 1976, he started a concrete forming business, Stoner Concrete Forming. In 1987, they bought the bar in Elliston,MT, Stoner’s Last Chance Saloon. 
He tried bartending, but said “this is not for me“and went back to pouring concrete walls. Guy and Mary Jo worked full-time at their day-jobs and also ran the bar with the help of a lot of people. Oh boy, that bar “Stoner’s” has a lot of mostly good memories over the years. They made friends with a lot of good people who were faithful customers to them.
Despite only having a high school education, Guy was a lifelong successful serial entrepreneur with a natural gift for marketing. These are some of the things he started at the bar, so they could make it through the slow times. There was a lovely legs contest following the Elliston VFD poker run; a fishing derby; a couple of naughty nighty parties; and the Duck Races for a few years which had the Tim Duck derby, the Beakness, and the Bilmont. Every year in February there was a chili cookoff, and the fun pool league with a big party at the end of the season. 
He also started the famous Big Foot Hunt, every March, with a huge bonfire on their property. Hunters could purchase a license to hunt big foot, 2 wild Rainers, and many balloons for prizes, all while wading through snow or sometimes mud. Guy’s marketing for the Big Foot hunt was amazing, he would place ads in the newspaper about Bigfoot sightings and would visit places with Bigfoot and the wild Rainers which ended up as an article in the Helena IR. All these parties were supported with lots of help from many good friends with tons of memories and stories.
Guy Stoner loved the outdoors, especially to hunt, fish, ride dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and drag racing in his ‘34 coup. His nickname in the Sixth Ward was “fish” given to him for his love of fishing. He hunted in a lot of places in Montana.
Guy was preceded in death by his mother and father, Frank and Edie; in-laws, Willie and Hazel Miller; brother, Jack Smith; sister and brother-in-laws, Wanda Smith, Maggie Wooten, Carol Finch, Johnny Finch, Carole Miller; and nephew, Terry Finch.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Jo; son, Steve and partner Teena of Boise, ID; daughter, Mikal (retired Army Colonel) and son-in-law, Stuart Tyner of Great Falls, VA; grandchildren, Devon Lonigro of Elliston, Joshua and Nathan Tyner of VA; brother-in-law Jimmy Miller, sister-in-law, Joyce Smith, both of Helena.
Nieces and nephews, Deb Smith, Cindy (Gary) Eccleston, Brett (Sharon) Smith, Bud (Bobbie) Wooten, Kris Wooten, Robin (Bud) Biskis, Cindy (Joel) Platts, John Finch, Jason (Megan) Miller; and numerous cousins. Of special note, is the triad of cousins, from the Sixth Ward, Jim “Turtle” Backstrom and Tom “Juicy” Juhl, whose many adventures together with Guy could fill novels.
 No services will be held at this time, however there will be a celebration of life this summer. Please watch for the notices and be prepared to share your many stories.
 We also want to thank the staff and doctors on the second floor of St. Peter’s for their kind caring of Guy.
Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Guy.

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