Obituaries

POLSON — Herschel R. Mays passed away at St. Patrick Hospital, surrounded by his sons, on Nov. 2, 2021, at age 78. He was born to Lavina (Smith) and Raymond Mays on Nov. 26, 1942. In Missoula, Herschel met his one and only, Clara Mays; they were married on Oct. 26, 1963. They then had three beloved sons, Herschel (Marchita), Mark (Lisa), and Kevin and raised them in Western Montana. Of all the life lessons he taught his sons, hard work and honesty are their most cherished; Hersh was an exceptional role model and outstanding father. His closest friends were Monroe Smith and Chip Williams. Hersh always told many stories about the shenanigans he and Monroe got into both as kids and ad...

POLSON — Our loving, talented, and generous mother, Grace Hartsoch, left this world early in the morning of Nov. 17, 2021. Grace was born in 1929 in Kalispell and grew up in the beautiful small town of Dayton. She was the daughter of John and Bertha Ober and sibling to sisters Stella, Esther, Virgin...

RONAN — Phyllis Hocker passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family on Nov. 17, 2021, at 12:10 after a short battle with an illness. She was born on July 13, 1926, in Shelton, Washington, to Gerald and Esther Deffinbaugh. The family later moved to Dayton and then to the North Crow area of Ronan...

RONAN — George Emmanuel Garcia Sr. was born in St. Ignatius on May 13, 1945, and went to be with his loving Savior on Nov. 11, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He was born to Trinidad and Annie (Courville) Garcia. He was the youngest of eight and a member of the Salish and Kootenai Tribe.   ...

POLSON — Dusty Seegers, age 56, passed away on Nov. 12, 2021, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Arrangements are under the care of The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory.  

ST. GEORGE, UTAH — Cecile Marie Rathbun, 81, passed away peacefully on Oct. 27, 2021, from health issues at Dixie Hospital in St. George, Utah.  She was born to Ralph Dell Coulter and Ann Marie (Hood) Coulter in Missoula, on April 24, 1940. As a small child, she had many adventures at the fa...

PABLO — Regena Fay Ely passed away on Oct. 31, 2021. She was born to George Aldrich and Joan Hawkins, but raised by her dad, Charles Hawkins. She grew up all over the U.S. as an army brat and finally made her permanent home in Montana. Here she met and married Daniel Bisson and later married Steve Ely....

  NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — Richard (Dick) was born on March 14, 1941, in Miles City, where he spent his childhood.  As a youngster, Dick was fascinated by and learned the electrical trade from his father, Herb “Sparky” Schulz, who owned and operated Schulz Electric. Some of hi...

RONAN — Kevin Richard Normandeau passed away peacefully at home with his family on Oct. 29, 2021. Kevin was born to Louis and Lila Normandeau on July 28, 1964, in St Ignatius. He graduated from Ronan High School before attending A&P School.  He married Tracy Johnson and adopted her son Chri...

RONAN — Grave-side services for Paul W. Miller will be held at the Ronan Cemetery on Nov. 13, 2021, at 1 p.m. Paul, age 87, passed away at his home in Libby on Oct. 23, 2021.