Edith Mason

Edith Knutson Schulte Mason, 95, passed away at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls on June 15, 2014, with her family by her side.

Edith was born Jan. 18, 1919, in Dazey, N.D., to Stark and Serina Knutson. She grew up on the farm near Hannaford, N.D., where she was the oldest of seven children during the Great Depression.

In 1936, at the age of 17, she married Leo Schulte, and together they raised five children, Elaine, Carole, Butch, Bill and Sherry.

They traveled all over the Northwest to Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Oregon and Washington. One July 4th holiday, they came over the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park to the Flathead Valley. Seeing the beautiful Flathead she said, “This is where I want to raise our family”; this was 1938.

The opportunity came in 1946 when work for carpenters was needed on the new Hungry Horse Dam. They settled in Columbia Falls and raised their family there.

After the dam construction was completed an opportunity came for Edith to work at the new Anaconda Aluminum Company. She was the first woman hired by AAC, starting as a janitress, cleaning offices for the AAC managers in the Nord Building.

Over the years, she was promoted and finished her career managing office services. She worked at AAC for 30 years, always so thankful for the job and benefits that she earned at AAC.

Leo passed away in 1971. She married Hershel “Red” Mason in 1974. They lived as snowbirds until Red passed away in 1994.

She was a life member of the Columbia Falls William Murphy VFW Ladies Auxiliary, a 20-year member of the Moving Image Health Club, and a lifelong member of St. Richard’s Catholic Church.

Edith was preceded in death by her parents; siblings Knute, Arthur, Leonard, Stewart and Olga Knutson; husbands Leo Schulte and Hershel “Red” Mason; daughter Elaine Schulte; son Leo “Butch” Schulte; and grandsons Lawrence Bell, Russell Schulte and Cole Sandefer.

She is survived by her daughter Carole Bell and husband Kenneth, son Bill Schulte, daughter Sherry Martindale and husband Bill, all of Columbia Falls, Steve Mason, of Kalispell, and Scott Mason; sister Irene Barnhart, of Columbia Falls; sisters-in-law Jeanie Knutson, of Columbia Falls, and Joan Knutson, of Seattle; seven grandchildren, Lorri Bell Cribb, of Perth, Wash., Kendy Bell Jensen, of Lavina, Brad Bell, of Columbia Falls, Randy Martindale, of Columbia Falls, Chris Martindale, of Seattle, Lisa Martindale Crane, of Columbia Falls, and Alayna Schulte Sandefer, of Stevensville, Md.; 18 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at St. Richard’s Catholic Church in Columbia Falls on Thursday, June 19,  at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at St. Richard’s Catholic Cemetery. A luncheon will then be served at St. Richard’s Church.