Mary Bertino

Mary H. Bertino, 95, of Columbia Falls, passed away of cancer Dec. 2, 2004, at the Brendan House in Kalispell.

She was born Oct. 16, 1909, at Dagget Brook, Minn., to John and Barbara (Campbell) Ellman.

Mary was married to Louis (Boots) Schoenberg on Sept. 2, 1932, in Whitefish. They operated the Boots Café for a number of years in Columbia Falls. Later he was a butcher at the Park Merc. The couple donated land to the City of Columbia Falls for Schoenberg Park. It is used for a skating rink, sliding hill and baseball field.

Mary supervised the home demonstration booth at the country fair for many years. She was a member of St. Richard's Catholic Church and the Altar Society for more than 75 years. She was active in the Columbia Annas Home Demonstration Club, enjoyed ice skating, fishing and hunting. Mary and Boots tripped the light fantastic as members of the square dance club. Boots passed away Sept. 22, 1968.

Mary Schoenberg and Louis Bertino were married on Nov. 4, 1972. They lived in Sumner, Wash., where he was an iron worker. The Bertinos returned to Columbia Falls in 1982 when he retired.

She was preceded in death by two sisters, Donna Nadeau and Lorene Sallee; four brothers, John Jr., Ray, Pat and Jim Ellman; and one stepson, Clarence Bertino.

Mary is survived by three sisters, Frances and husband, Dale Gardner, of Peachtree, Calif., Margie and husband, Stan Sklodo, of Aberdeen, Wash., and Kate Lundstrom, of Columbia Falls; two brothers, Frank (Bud) and wife, Mary Lou Ellman, and Sam and wife, Frankie Ellman, of Columbia Falls; her son, John Schoenberg, of Apple Valley, Calif.; her husband, Louis Bertino, of Polson; four stepchildren, Louise Allen ,of Spokane, William and wife, Marilyn Bertino, of Colorado Springs, Colo., Thomas and wife, Ellen Bertino, in Virginia, and Phillip Bertino, of Kalispell; three grandchildren, Tanya, Kim and Mark Schoenberg; and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass will be held Thursday, Dec. 9, 2004, at 11 a.m. at St. Richard's Catholic Church. A reception will follow the service.

Interment will be in St. Richard's Catholic Cemetery under the direction of Columbia Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Wings, the Columbia Falls Food Pantry, or the charity of the donors choice.

Gordon Triplett

Gordon Neil "Joe" Triplett, 61, died Nov. 29, 2004, at his home in Columbia Falls.

Joe was born May 8, 1943, in Port Orchard, Wash., the son of Buck and Ann Triplett. They moved to the Swan Valley near Condon when Joe was less than two months old.

Over the years, Joe worked as a wilderness guide and a packer. He also worked at various ranches and sawmills, grew Christmas trees and ran his own post-and-pole business. When he was 12 years old, he earned $3 a day driving a mule team for the Gordon Ranch. He later worked for several outfitters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, including Herb Toelke, Warren Johnson and Chuck Ray.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents and his three sons, Copley and Cory Triplett and Randy Dorman.

He is survived by his wife, Carmen Triplett, of Columbia Falls; two daughters, Toni Triplett, of Columbia Falls, and JoDee Triplett, of Kalispell; three grandchildren, Collin and Curtis Triplett and C.J. Piland, all of Columbia Falls; two brothers, Jeff Triplett, of Washington, and Pat Triplett, of Columbia Falls; two sisters, Helen Triplett, of Hamilton, and Nancy Triplett, of Eureka; and numerous nephews and nieces.

Interment took place Dec. 2, 2004, at the Tobacco Valley Cemetery in Eureka, with Pastor Darrell Newby of the Assembly of God Church in Columbia Falls officiating.

Memorials may be sent to Hospice of the Flathead Valley.

Norman Prestbye

Reverend Norman R. Prestbye, 88, died Nov. 24, 2004, at Tacoma Lutheran Home in Tacoma, Was.

He was born Nov. 16, 1916, in Kalispell, the son of Abraham and Clara (Gilbertson) Prestbye. He attended elementary schools in Kalispell and graduated from Flathead County High School in 1934.

He attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and received his bachelor of arts degree in 1942. He attended Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and was a candidate of theology in 1945 and received a bachelor of theology in absentia in 1953. He was ordained into the Lutheran Ministry on Feb. 11, 1945, by Dr. L. N. Field at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell.

On Feb. 15, 1945, he was united in marriage to Catherine Stedje at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell. He served parishes at Polson and Ronan; Culbertson and Bainville; Clarkston, Wash.; and Canby, Ore. He retired Nov. 30, 1981. He served as associate and interim pastor after his retirement at Woodburn, Ore. Following retirement, they lived at Lakeside; Beaverton, Ore.; Woodburn, Ore.; Kalispell; Mukilteo, Wash.; and Tacoma, Wash.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Catherine Sophia (Stedje) Prestbye, of Tacoma; son Fergus N. Prestbye and wife, Jane, of Kent, Wash.; daughter Arletta Anderson and husband Roger, of Mukilteo, Wash.; three granddaughters, Dayna Steringer, of Portland, Ore., Amanda Brunaugh, of Puyallup, Wash., and Brita Anderson, of Naperville, Ill.; grandsons Erik and Kyle; and sisters BethAdele Beller, of Kalispell, and Alta Gaarder, of Pierre, S.D.

Funeral services were held Dec. 3, 2004, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, with Pastor Larry Stappler officiating. Burial followed at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 603 South Main Street, Kalispell MT 59901, or the Lutheran Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., or St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.

Robert McGuire

Robert "Bob" G. McGuire, 59, died Nov. 30, 2004, at his residence in Kalispell after a long battle with cancer.

He was born March 22, 1945, Kalispell, the son of Glenn and Beth (Calbick) McGuire. He attended schools and graduated from Flathead County High School in 1963 before attending the University of Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah, and Brown Institute in Minneapolis, Minn. Upon returning to Kalispell, he met and married Beverly Lampman on Sept. 27, 1966, at Priest River, Idaho. In 1971, Bob joined the Montana Highway Patrol, retiring after 22 years of service. He continued his law enforcement career as chief of law enforcement at Glacier Park International Airport before retiring in June 2004.

Bob will be remembered by his great smile and positive attitude. He loved the time he spent with his family and was extremely proud of his two children and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife Beverly McGuire of Kalispell; daughter Shelley Howell and her husband, Greg, of Polson; son Jeff McGuire, of Kalispell; grandchildren Gage and Haley McGuire, of Bismarck, N.D., and Kelsie, Logan and Nicole Howell, of Polson; sister Marilyn McGuire Peterson, of Flagstaff, Ariz.; and aunt Agnes Faulkner, of Kalispell.

Funeral service was held Dec. 3, 2004, at Johnson Mortuary Chapel. Burial followed at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to the Montana Hope Project, a children's make-a-wish program sponsored by the Montana Highway Patrol at Montana Hope Project, P.O. Box 5927, Helena MT 59604.

William Frey

William G. "Bill" Frey, 73, passed away at his home in Columbia Falls on Nov. 25, 2004.

He was born March 10, 1931.

He retired from the railroad as an engineer and then owned and operated a business in Columbia Falls.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Kay Frey, of Missoula, and two grandchildren.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date.