September 15th, 2021

Donna Marie Miller Weber
Donna Marie Miller Weber, age 85, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Our family can all attest to our Mom’s strength and strong will for all of what life had handed her.
Donna was born in Butte, Montana, and grew up in Elliston, graduating from Powell County High School. She married the love of her life, Ronald Weber, on March 10, 1956. Donna was a homemaker most of her life but enjoyed many hobbies. She was a worldly collector of many items, including a vast salt and pepper shaker collection which can be seen at the Deer Lodge museum. She loved reading as a way to learn, and she especially enjoyed crocheting and stamp collecting, but one of the last hobbies she had spent time doing was bobbin lace. She once flew to New York to attend a bobbin lace convention and remarked that for a portion of the flight, she chatted with and enjoyed the company of a little known musician, a young man named MC Hammer.
Donna loved family events more than anything and especially enjoyed the holidays. Many, many stories came from Christmas morning, as well as Thanksgiving in Elliston and dressing up for Halloweens as a witch or any number of costumes Donna usually put together herself. She made up her granddaughter Amber as Roger Rabbit for school one year. Mom also coached her daughter Julie in sewing many costumes for Annie, Eva and Claire.
Donna always spoke highly of several families in her life — She had stories of her own children, but also spoke of the friends her own kids brought over to play. She spoke of all the neighborhood kids that we grew up with like they were her own, the kids of the sixth ward were a wild bunch. During the years spent living in Elliston, Ron and Donna were thankful for the Carroll family and their four boys who endlessly helped with many chores.
Mom had some brief employment at the Helena State Nursery as a dibbler — the person who poked holes with their finger and dropped in seeds to grow the beautiful flowers they were known for — as well as selling corn on a corn truck for Kinsey Gardens.
Her favorite stories come from when she worked for the phone company (Ma Bell) as an operator at a switchboard. Like the shows on TV, she would talk to those on one end and connect them with their other party on the other end.
Dad and Mom enjoyed traveling and fishing in their later years. The different boats they had for lake fishing made for great fun with the grandkids, along with camping at White Earth and various other lakes. 
Dad said that almost every time they fished, Mom would out-catch Dad no matter what they were using. As they slowed down some, going out and cooking over an open fire with their kids and grandkids gave them great pleasure. Mom and Dad enjoyed watching the grandkids play sports for Helena High and Capital High. Mom was always with Dad at the bowling alley and she had many close friends from those times.
Donna is preceded in death by her husband Ron; and her parents John and Gladys Miller. She is survived by her sister Mary Ann Fee; daughter Julie McKenna; grandchildren Annie Waples (Daniel Renfro), Eva Andrade (Juan) and Claire Waples (Tahisha); son John Weber with grandkids Tim Draper and Melissa Wilks (Brandon); son Ron Weber (Kari) with grandkids Amber Andersen and Adam Weber; and five great grandchildren.
Services will be held Saturday, September 18, at 2 p.m. at the Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home. 
There will be a graveside service at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison on Tuesday, September 21, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Elliston Church, P.O. Box 57, Elliston. MT 59728. To offer a condolence or to share a story about Donna, please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com.

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​Russell Wayne Jennings
Russell Wayne Jennings passed away on Thursday, September 9, 2021.
Russ was born in Deer Lodge, Montana, on September 29, 1936, to Ayres and Edna Jennings. After graduating from the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree, Russ moved to Harlowton, Montana, to teach in the high school. While there he met Peggy Fuchs. They were married on December 3, 1960. 
They moved to Missoula, Montana, where Russ completed his master’s degree. Russ was then awarded an assistant teaching position at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where he also completed his PhD.
Russ worked in the human resource department at the Hanford nuclear plant in the state of Washington; the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Phoenix, Arizona; and he taught classes at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Russ spent his retirement years in Gilbert, Arizona, close to his family.
Russ was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers (one an infant). He is survived by his daughter Janet Pattison (Graham), his son Bryce Jennings and his granddaughter Jessica Jennings.