March 13th, 2019

​Bette Garnett Peterson
Bette Garnett Peterson, 1932-2019.
 Sweetgrass Woman her name came to be and later I will tell you why it is important to me. But for now let us celebrate her journey through life to the end of the trail.
She was born in the backseat of a car in 1932, at Woodside, in the Bitterroot north of Hamilton. Her Shoshone blood was given to her by Mary Garnett, and her dad, Oran, was not finished yet. Sweetgrass Woman had four brothers who filled her life, with none surviving her sacred life.
She grew up in the valley of the Bitterroot flower, but as a young girl moved to Anaconda for a job her dad did need. Later on she met her man, Paul, and her real journey began. Farming and ranching in the Deer Lodge Valley, driving the buckrake with her black hair waving in the wind.
Sweetgrass Woman mothered two children early on and gave them their freedom to grow up independent and strong; a boy and girl to be exact, and that is why I can write this story now.
I took her daughter’s hand in 1989, and proved myself in this promised land, sharing their journey with honey bees and lending a hand.
When Christmas or birthdays came around, we treasured the gift of sweetgrass all in a braid. It was to remind us of smudges and prayers and that the real gifts are free if you watch for them out there. She was the best of a cook and taught me how to fry sliced apples in butter and brown sugar, along with pork steak and a mix of wild rice and salad on the side.
In later years we lived close by to help them along with the aging of time. One afternoon, she visited our house and we offered bananas for their next meal. She said she could take two and placed them in her left coat pocket, commenting that she didn’t have room in the right pocket – her six gun was there.
With her hair silver and years passed by, on March 2, 2019, God needed her to share her wealth by smudging and sending prayers down on the earth.
She loved to ride through the Big Hole Valley, especially in June when the camas flowers are in full bloom. We will spread her ashes with love and upon the ground a sweetgrass braid we will leave there.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Deer Lodge Care, 1100 Texas Avenue, Deer Lodge, MT 59722.

​Frances “Frankie” Rose (Jacobs) Sauber
Frances “Frankie” Rose (Jacobs) Sauber of Bellevue, Wash.; born March 31, 1922 in Tracy, Minn. And died January 5, 2019 in Bellevue; preceded in death by her husband of 74 years Paul Thomas Sauber; daughter of the late Frank and Louise Jacobs; mother of Shirley Sauber; Thomas (Raquel); Bernard (Carroll); Kenneth (Lois); Phillip (Elaine); Charles (Nancy); sister-in-law of Madalen Sugrue; grandmother to 12; great-grandmother to 13. She was preceded in death by sisters Marie and Imelda and a brother, Rev. John Jacobs, Dominican Priest.
Upon graduating Tracy high school, Tracy, Minn., Frankie moved to Spokane, Wash. While there she met Paul Sauber, who attended Gonzaga University. On May 22, 1944 she and Paul married. They remained happily married for 74 years until Paul died in July 2018.
After marrying, Paul and Frances moved to Seattle, he to work for the Boeing Company, she to begin her work as a nurse at Providence Hospital in Seattle. She worked as a nurse until her first child was born in 1945. Her focus was on child rearing and loving her husband.
When Paul retired from Boeing in 1982, he and Frankie toured the country in their motorhome. They enjoyed visiting national parks, historic landmarks, and spending time with their children and grandchildren. The family frequently spent time in Gold Creek visiting Paul’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Sauber.
The Memorial Mass was celebrated at St. Louise Church in Bellevue, January 18, 2019. Burial was in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bellevue.

Mr. Gary “Coach” Weber
Mr. Gary “Coach” Weber, born on January 10, 1950 in Hamilton, to the late Marcia Richards and the late Joseph Weber, passed away at age 69 on March 1, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska, surrounded by his loved ones. 
He was preceded in death by his mother, father, and stepfather, John Richards.  Gary is survived by his partner Kristy Sauerbier; his son and daughter-in-law, Nicholas Weber, Sarah Weber, and grandchildren Holly, Isaac, Grant, and Faye; his daughter Samantha Weber and partner David Gonzalez; and his youngest son Joseph Weber, partner Kelsie Burgman, and grandson Lincoln.   He is also survived by his sisters, Barbara Weber and Karen Kallin.  
He graduated from Montana School of Technology and spent a lifetime in sales and in the service of others.  He was the beloved coach of the local high school basketball team, and enjoyed playing pranks and making others laugh with his booming voice and thunderous laugh. He will be missed as a towering presence in all the lives he touched. 
His family invites donations in Gary’s name to the Burgman / Boyle Memorial Scholarship Foundation (Mountain West FCU, 400 East Park St. Butte, MT 59701). 
Friends and family can pay their respects at the visitation, officiated by Cleveland Zackery, on Friday, March 8 from 12 to 1 p.m. at Angelus Memorial Park, 440 E. Klatt Rd., Anchorage, Alaska, 99515. Following that, there will be a funeral service, officiated by Cleveland Zackery, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Angelus Memorial Park.  

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​Gary Tavenner
​Gary Tavenner, a true Montana native, passed away February 26, at his home in Missoula.   A proud descendant of the Williams, Tavenner, and Bielenberg families of Deer Lodge, Gary was born April 14, 1941 to Donald Williams Tavenner and Mary Ellen Bielenberg Tavenner, joining older brother Dean. Younger brother Lee completed the family. Don and Mary instilled a love of Montana history, photography and aviation in all three boys. Don led the clan on frequent family adventures to Mexico, Arizona, and his beloved Glacier Park.
Gary graduated from Powell County High School lettering in football, basketball, and track. Many of his Warden classmates remain lifelong friends. His college career was spent at Montana State in Bozeman where he was a Sigma Chi preparing for a career in ranching with majors in Accounting and Economics.  
In 1963, he married Lynn Ellinghouse of Sheridan, moving back to the Williams and Tavenner Ranch to join his father and Uncle Bob in the family business and Montana ranching tradition.   After the untimely death of his father and sale of the ranch, Gary built custom homes and owned and operated Pioneer Hardware in Deer Lodge.   A new career with ASCS/Farm Service Agency brought him to Missoula where he was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Missoula and attended Grace Methodist Church.
 He was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Mary and brother Dean.   He is survived by his wife Lynn, daughters and sons-in-law; Gloria Tavenner Dow (Dean) of Reno, Nev., Tanya Lynn Hauenstein (Dennis) of Spokane, Wash., and Laura Louise Sokolowski (Ken) of Denver, Colo.; grandsons Cody Hauenstein (Amanda), Ryan Hauenstein, Zane Sokolowski, and Cy Sokolowski; great-granddaughters Hayden and Emersyn Hauenstein, brother Lee and Mary Hamilton, cousin Martha Klaumann (Stan), numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, and many dear friends.
Gary’s family remembers and appreciates his quiet, care taking demeanor, his work ethic and his good humor in the face of adversity.   He was an encouraging swim, basketball, cheer and life coach to his daughters, a construction foreman for the entire family, and an avid Mullan Road historian throughout his entire life. Gary believed anything was possible, “If a guy had a few tools, and a little know how…”
Services will be Saturday, March 16, 2019, 11 a.m., at the Grace Methodist Church on the corner of 10th and Garfield, Pastor Todd Scranton officiating, with a luncheon reception to follow.   Memorials may be made to Grace Church, 1756 10th Street West, Missoula, 59801, or Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation, 1106 Main Street, Deer Lodge, Montana 59722, or one of the donor’s choice   If you are unable to join us   for the service, walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, sprinkle huckleberries on your ice cream, chuckle at a limerick,   join Stan at the sink to do the dishes or contemplate a historic, geologic or geographic roadside sign. Gary will be with you.   Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.

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Death Notice: Ole M. Olson
Ole M. Olson, 76, passed away on February 5, 2019 at Deer Lodge Medical Center. Services pending.

Correction: Donald (Duck) Roberts
Services will be held on March 23 at the Baptist Church at 1 p.m. with the guard ceremony following outside the church. A luncheon will follow immediately afterwards at the church.