Roberta Nutting

Roberta (Hume) Field Nutting died of natural causes Jan. 30, 2007, four days before her 88th birthday.

Roberta was born in Kalispell on Feb. 3, 1919, the 14th child born to Robert and Hannah (Brockton) Hume, early pioneers in the Kalispell area.

She graduated from Flathead County High School and married Ronald Keen Field, of Whitefish, in 1936. They raised three children, primarily in Denton, where he was manager of Denton Flying Service.

In the late 1950s, Roberta and Ronnie built a bowling alley in Denton, and Roberta operated the restaurant for seven years. They were moving the bowling alley to Eureka in 1965 when Ronnie suffered a fatal heart attack at his parent's home in Whitefish. She operated this bowling alley until the early 1970s.

Roberta married Art Nutting, of Eureka, in 1970. As an active senior-citizen advocate, she worked thousands of hours for Legacy Legislature and was named Senior Citizen of the Year. Art died in 1993, and Roberta eventually moved back to the Kalispell area and settled in Bigfork in 1999.

She is survived by sons Richard N. Field, of Bigfork, and Dwight Keen and Beth Field, of Fernie, B.C.; daughter Bobbin K., and Ken Maki, of Belt; sister Catherine Brownlow, of Helena; nine grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.