Amber Maxine Smith/Nelson
Amber Maxine Smith/Nelson, 20, passed away Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006.
She was born Jan. 26, 1986, in Spokane to James and Ivy (Smith) Nelson. Amber attended Kalispell grade schools and seventh grade at Linderman, then went on to graduate from Sweet Home High School in Sweet Home, Ore. She was studying to be a crime scene investigator.
Amber was engaged to be married to Tom Taylor of Sweet Home.
Amber was deeply loved by everyone who knew her. She captured the hearts of everyone she met. Her sense of humor tickled everyone's funny bone. Other times, she was Little Miss Attitude.
Amber was preceded in death by her sister, Lisa Marie; grandpas, James E. Smith Sr., Royce J. Nelson, and Ed Dickinson; great-grandma, Rosie Florence Littlefield; uncles, Frank Littlefield, and John, Bob and Jay Nelson.
She is survived by her parents, James and Ivy Nelson; sisters, Jamie and Tamara Nelson; brothers, Adam, Alden and Chris; fiance, Tom Taylor and family; special parents, the Johnson family; grandparents, Maxine Nelson, Gary and Norma Houff; uncles and aunts, Ronnie and Carla Smith, Rick and Carol Nelson, Steve and Martha Shelley, Roger and Margaret Radabah, James Jr., and Chad Smith, Judy Nelson and Doreen Marquez, and many other relatives, including Riley, Sammy, Alysa and William.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. Urn burial will be after the service at Lone Pine Cemetery behind the Little Brown Church in Bigfork. Celebration of Life will be after the burial at Aunt Judy's house in Evergreen. It will be potluck.
Roger J. Morris Jr., 54, publisher and editor of The Western News, died Sept. 21, 2006, in Libby.
Roger and his family came to Libby in July 1992, where he joined the staff of The Western News and remained with the paper for the past 14 years.
He was born in St. Albans, Long Island, N.Y., to Roger and Catherine Morris and was raised and educated at Deer Park, Long Island, later attending college at Oklahoma University and the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, receiving a bachelors in journalism.
Roger worked at the North Platte, Neb., Telegraph newspaper and later was employed in the public relations department of State Farm Insurance. He served as a reporter and later as editor and general manager of the Country Times, in Gunnison, Colo., and the Mountain Sun News, in Crested Butte, Colo., before coming to Libby.
A tireless community advocate and servant, Roger served on the board of Libby Nordicfest, Inc. since 1992 and had been a longtime member of the Lincoln County Library Board as well as serving in a promotional capacity for The Treasure Tones.
He had been an active supporter of Libby public schools and sports and was recently honored at a Libby Loggers football game with a signed game ball. He also served as president of the Libby Rotary Club.
Roger is remembered by many for his love of the outdoors, hiking in the Cabinet Wilderness area and in many of the national parks and his beautiful photography of those areas; he also enjoyed downhill skiing.
Survivors include his son, Christopher Morris, of Bozeman; his parents, Roger Morris Sr., of Parker, Colo., and Catherine Morris, of Tucson; a brother, Brian Morris, of Aurora, Colo.; a sister, Michelle Simpson, of Crested Butte, Colo.; and a host of good friends.
Memorials in Roger's memory may be made to Nordicfest Inc., P.O. Box 791, Libby MT 59923.