September 16th, 2015

William C. Giannonatti
William C. Giannonatti passed away on the 31st day of August at St. James Hospital in Butte.
Bill was born to Carlos and Rosella Giannonatti on April 28, 1930 at the family ranch in Buffalo, S.D., and attended country grade school. The family moved to Portland, Ore. during the war and Bill graduated from which school in Portland. Upon the death of his mother, he returned to South Dakota and began his career with the Milwaukee Railroad.
In 1957, Bill married Beverly Giannonatti, ending in 1999. They had two sons, Gregory and Darrell. Bill was preceded in death by Darrell, and Greg is presently living in Deer Lodge.
Bill was Supervisor of Signals and Communications for the Milwaukee Railroad, and was so sad at its demise. He then moved to Billings, as a supervisor of the National Railroad Administration. After retiring from the NRA, he moved to his country home in Deer Lodge.
At Bill’s request, there will be no funeral.
Thanks to all who visited him in the hospital and to the wonderful caregivers at the hospital.

Lois Rae Nix-Smith
Nov. 2, 1939 to Sept. 11, 2015.
Lois Rae Nix was born Nov. 2, 1939 in Dillon to Muriel Leora Edwards and D.G. Nix.  She was raised in Lima until her junior year of high school when the family moved to Dillon.  She graduated From Beaverhead County High School in 1958 and then married Van Thomas Smith in July 1958.  Together they had three children Glen, Sheri, and Mark.  They were divorced in Dec., 1960.
She was baptized in the First Presbyterian Church in Dillon in March of 1964.  She remained a member of the church for the rest of her life.
She had many fond memories of visiting the Centennial Valley when they would go spend the summer with grandparents, aunts and uncles.  She loved the old cemeteries and decorating all the gravesites of her ancestors.  She enjoyed seeing all the old homesteads and talking about all the people she remembered from her childhood.  She continued to visit the valley every summer even as an adult.
She was employed at the Big Dipper Café and later at the Oasis Café.  She then went to work at Parkview Acres Nursing Home where she remained employed for 30 years.  She retired in 2004.  She then worked part-time at the Beaverhead County Welfare Department and the City Library.  She quit working completely in 2007.
She loved cows and collected everything with a cow on it.  Every room was decorated with cows.  She had knickknacks, jewelry, stuffed animals, pillows and tee-shirts, towels, and pictures on every wall of cows.
She enjoyed family gatherings.  She loved her friends at the church and all her friends at the Bicentennial Apartments.  She adored her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.  She will be sorely missed by them all.
She is survived by her children; Glen (Lisa) Smith of Deer Lodge, Sheri (Allen) Nygren of Argenta and Mark (Sarah) Smith of Calhoun, Mo., her sister; Leora Grace Peterson of Sheridan and a brother; Gyle (Carellen) Nix of Boulder, three grandsons; Gyle, Gary and Jeremiah (Nicole) Nygren of Dillon and one granddaughter; Rachel (Jason) Finch of Commerce, Ga., six great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews and cousins.
The family has planned a memorial service for next spring where we will scatter her ashes on Spring Hill in Lima as she wished.  We would like to invite everyone to celebrate the life of our mother, sister, grandmother at the First Presbyterian Church for a luncheon on September 19 at 1 p.m.  Memorials can be made to the church or the Centennial Valley Cemetery Restoration Fund.  There is a guestbook available on line at www.brundagefuneralhome.com.

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Eric Francis Weller
Eric Francis Weller was born March 17, 1959 in New Haven, Conn. and passed on August 15, 2015   in Edmonds, Wash.  
Eric was a talented artist who attended Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Connecticut.  He was in ROTC and following college he entered the Air Force and was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls as a Missile Officer.   
Eric had a passion and enthusiasm for living life to its fullest.  Life to him was an incredible journey.  He had a deep respect for nature and loved being in the outdoors.  He loved to spend time and work on his cattle ranch in Gold Creek. His dream was to retire there.  He had a great sense of humor and treasured the love he shared with his family, friends and his animals.  
He was a respected and dedicated professional working in the roofing and the construction industry for over 20 years where his efforts made a lasting impact. 
Always the “Warhorse” he showed tremendous strength, determination and courage during the last year of his life while he battled cancer.  He is survived by his wife Paula, mother Jessie Weller, father Carl Weller Jr., brother Karl Weller and sister Karla Flaherty and numerous nieces and nephews.   A celebration of his life will be held on October 3, 2015 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at his home in Gold Creek.  Family and friends are welcome to attend.

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