Molly Strong

Molly Strong, beloved mother, grandmother, daughter, friend and unforgettable Flathead Valley character, left this dimension on May 30, 2006, after suffering respiratory failure.

Her daughters, Elise and AnnEve, partner, Leland Hall, and several friends were at her side when her soul rose with the smoke of burning sweet grass.

Molly was born in Ft.. Pierce, Fla., in 1943 to Ann and Rufus Lott. After earning master's degrees in English and Latin and working to register African-American voters in the South, Molly moved to Montana in the 1960s, where she discovered her true home.

Molly was inimitable, brilliant, independent, outspoken and generous to a fault. She raised two daughters alone and started several businesses in the valley. She taught school, farmed trees and worked as a carpenter, landscaper and inventor. She once walked from Bigfork to Denver, Colo., in winter to highlight her newest invention, the Yeti boot.

Because she was constantly outdoors trimming trees, sandblasting buildings or ice fishing, Molly in the 1980s resolved to build a better snow boot. She came up with the design for her Yeti Boot after observing the agility of animals in the Montana snow.

Molly would later sue a California sporting goods giant for stealing her idea. Refusing the company's settlement offers and her lawyer's pleas (although by then she was living in a tepee with no electricity), after nearly 10 years the court ruled in her favor.

Molly was most proud of her daughters and grandsons, though she also enjoyed spending time with her many friends, attending Native American gatherings, political debate and activism, and fishing with friend Lee Hall.

With her outrageous hats, feathered earrings, knee-high Yeti boots and Montana tales, Molly was a memorable and loving grandma to grandsons Josiah, Jordan and Lucas. In her last months, Molly spent time with her grandsons on the Maine coast, danced at a full-moon naturist beach party on Maui, protested the Iraq war in front of the White House and attended an organic farming conference in Idaho.

Molly recently moved from Ferndale, to Mission, where she planned to make reality her long-standing dream of establishing an organic community farm using permaculture principles.

Molly will be missed by her loving daughters, grandsons, life-partner Lee, and the world at large. She was preceded in death by her parents.