November 29th, 2017

​Katherine Elizabeth McKee (Beth)
Katherine Elizabeth McKee (Beth), 84 passed away on Saturday, November 18, 2017.  
She was born on April 12, 1933 in Bozeman, to James and Ada (Wheat) Pardew. She was the eldest of three girls. During World War II, the family moved to Seattle, Wash. where her mother was a welder in the United States Navy ship yards. After the war the family moved back to Bozeman where Beth attended schools and graduated from Bozeman High School in 1952. She worked at the telephone office before her graduation and for some time after.
Beth married and daughter Mona was born in 1954. Beth later remarried Robert (Bob) McOmber, and gave birth to James, Garyann, and Katherine (Kim). After living on the Montana highline working for Montana Power, the family settled in Butte.  Bob preceded her in death after an electrical incident.  Following his death, Beth moved her three younger children to Deer Lodge to be near her family.  This is where she met her husband Ben McKee.  They combined their families in 1977, and married on New Year’s Eve.  Beth spent many years as the head cook at Scharf’s Restaurant where she later retired.  Her first passion was her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she also loved to sew and knit. She loved to hunt and facet sapphires and garnets. Beth and Ben worked side by side making beautiful quilts and jewelry. She donated many quilts that she and her husband made to local auctions and benefits and of course to her children and grandchildren.  
Beth is survived by her husband Ben McKee and her children, Mona Jacobson (Rod), Jim McOmber (Debbie), Garyann Tamburello (Rod), and Kim Cassese (Joe), her step children, Kevin McKee (Shelley), Angie McKee (Sam) and David McKee (Billie Jo), Mike Meagher, Susie Meagher, and her youngest sister Pam Meagher Ingraham (Dale).  Beth and Ben’s grandchildren, Coby McOmber, Carrie Lease, Christopher McOmber, Jason Romine, Jessica Hickey, Katrina Kruzich, Camie Kendall, Ben Hoppe, Amy Nichols, Amanda McDonald, Sydnee McKee, and Marissa McKee and 23 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandson on the way.  She is preceded in death by her mother and step-father Ada and Hank Meagher, sisters Barbara Small and Virgie Horswill, grandson Josh McOmber, and step-grandson Matt Jacobson. 
We would like to thank Frontier Hospice for all their wonderful care. And a special thank you to Tammy Davis for all her love, attention, and wonderful care.
There will be a celebration of Beth’s life luncheon at the Broken Arrow on December 20, 2017 starting at 1 p.m.
No flowers please, make donations to the local food bank or donor’s choice.

Lois Kjose Palmer
Lois Kjose Palmer, January 25, 1933 - November 22, 2017.
Mom was born January 25, 1933 to Lloyd and Helen Kjose. The oldest of five children, she was born in Ridgeway, Iowa at the home of her grandparents Henry and Matilda Halvorson. She attended grade school in Decorah, Iowa and later when the family moved to Montana she attended school in Valier, graduating from Cut Bank High School.
Mom met and married Sherwin E. Palmer while he was on leave from serving in the Army just before the Korean War began in 1950. She married dad on January 25, 1951. The temperature in Cut Bank, the day of their wedding, was -11 degrees with a crisp wind blowing at 21 mph. It was foggy and snowing outside, the wind chill factor was a balmy -36.9 degrees. Mom’s aunt Anna had attended the wedding and mom and dad had agreed to give her a ride back to her home in Valier. Now dad’s little Dodge car didn’t have a great heater if it had one at all. So, they *&%$ *@  nearly froze to death on the way to Valier. Aunt Anna was so concerned about their safety that she ran into the house and found her buffalo skin robe. She wrapped it around both of them and sent them prayerfully back to Cut Bank. They celebrated their wedding by honking the horn as they drove down main street towards home. It was close to  midnight  and there wasn’t a soul anywhere around. They had 65 wonderful years before he passed away in July of 2016. Their marriage was blessed with five wonderful children.
Mom began her working career at the wee age of 13 babysitting for families in Cut Bank. At that time mom lived in Santa Rita, and walked into town and back home day or night. When she told me this story she suddenly realized how dangerous it was even back then for a single young woman to be walking alone at night. She said it never crossed her mind then, and no, she wouldn’t let us do it today.
She held many jobs, working as a bookkeeper for E.O. Boyle Accounting and even worked with her oldest daughter teaching her the tools of the trade the summer she left for college. What a bright young gal Linda was, deciding to put her fingers and toes away and become a fifth grade school teacher instead of an accountant.
Mom worked for Dye, Tavery and Judge Insurance Agency, The City of Cut Bank in the Accounting Department, The Glacier County nursing home and Palmer Implement, Inc. before  
retiring to her home to ride herd over her husband, children and many grandchildren.
She belonged to many local organizations, including The Sons of Norway, V.F.W. Auxiliary Post #6409, The Soroptimists Club of Cut Bank, The Order of Eastern Star in Cut Bank and later Conrad, and a duel member in Floral Chapter #46 Deer Lodge, where three of her children held memberships.
Mom was an active member of her church, teaching Sunday School at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and later serving as an usher with her sister Mary Lou Erdmann and her daughter Helen Duffey, at Prairie Peace Lutheran Church in Cut Bank. She enjoyed playing pinochle with her card club, and visiting with her friends and neighbors. Her hobbies included rug making, crocheting towels for family and friends, knitting and playing games with her children. She enjoyed the many trips she took to the Caribbean.   Her biggest joy was square dancing with dad and their partners Lyle and Clarice Carr.
Mom was a loving mother, sister, aunt, great aunt and grandmother. She had five children and is survived by Linda of Condon, Diane and Bob Rader of Butte, Helen and family of Cut Bank, Bozeman and Helena, son David of Helena, sister Mary Lou Erdmann of Cut Bank, brother Ted and Betty Kjose and N. Roland Kjose of Kelso, Wash. She was preceded in death by her son Steven Richard, her husband “Sherm” and brother Hubert.
Mom has 12 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. (No, that is not a mistake). Let’s face it, mom was great.  
Mom is and will be greatly missed. We love you mom and can’t wait until we are with you again. Lois’s memorial service will be held Saturday  December 2, 2017 at 11 a.m.  at Prairie Peace Lutheran Church, Cut Bank, Montana. Interment will be held at a later date.

---

​Anna Richardson
Anna Richardson went to be with the Lord and her beloved Chuck, on November 25, 2017.  Anna was born on January 20, 1927 to John and Annie (Jensen) Traverso in Deer Lodge.  She graduated from Powell County High School in 1944, where she especially enjoyed singing in the choir, played in the band and was part of a vocal trio.
After high school, she worked at the post office and the registrars office until she married Charles “Chuck” Richardson on April 17, 1948 in Deer Lodge.  Chuck worked for the Milwaukee Railroad and was transferred to Three Forks shortly after they were married. There they built their home with their own hands and raised their family. 
Anna is survived by her three children, Sharon (Dale) Dykema; Ron (Marla) Richardson; and Roger (Lonnie) Richardson; grandchildren Richard (Jenny) Dykema; Daron Dykema; Deanna Dykema; Bonnie (Stephen) Schultz; Jamie Richardson; Tasha (Brandon) Kohlwes; LaDean (Landon) Krogstad;  great-grandchildren Reid, Tate, and Lena Dykema; Sidney Schultz; Kendall and Harper Kohlwes; and Fletcher Krogstad.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Chuck, her brother Jack Traverso and sister-in-law Helen Traverso, her sister Margaret Pearson and brother-in-law Clem Pearson. 
She was a member of the Assembly of God Church.  
Services will be held Thursday, November 30 at 1 p.m. at the Christian Center Church in Three Forks. 
Arrangements are in care of K & L Mortuaries in Three Forks.

---