Obituaries

SPOKANE — Karen Cowan passed away peacefully on Aug. 3, 2024, at Hospice House of Spokane surrounded by her friends and family. Karen was born on June 22, 1950, in St. Ignatius, and attended Ronan High School. She is survived by her two adult sons, Jeff Lee (55) and Aaron Swinkels (47).  Karen was a lifelong advocate of physical fitness and health education. She graduated from EWU with a degree In PE and Health Ed and worked as a PE teacher in Spokane’s District 81. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in education administration (Magna Cum Lade) at Gonzaga University and worked as the PE and Health coordinator for Spokane Public Schools. At the Age of 50, Karen...

POLSON — Tom Konen passed away on Aug. 10, 2024, at his home in Polson, surrounded by his loving family, after a 10-month battle with Multiple Myeloma. He was born in Butte, on July 5, 1961. Tom was a successful chiropractor with a clinic in Plains and at Logan Health Polson. He had a soft spot for ...

POLSON — Lillian (Johnson) Stephenson died peacefully in her sleep at age 99 on Jan. 5, 2024. She was born on July 25, 1924, in Polson, to Carl and Marie Johnson who had recently arrived from Siberia north of the Artic Circle where they had a trading post and where their first child, Chester was born. ...

POLSON — A beautiful and loving soul, Colleen Ann Ricciardi, passed away on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Missoula at The Village Care Center of natural causes. Colleen was born on July 5, 1959, in southern California. Her dad, mom and brother moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1971 where she lived until 201...

MOIESE — Robert (Bob) Burrell passed away peacefully on June 30, 2024. Bob was born to Leslie Wayne and Viola Burrell on Sept. 1, 1940, in Moiese. He grew up farming in Moiese, attended the Moiese School and graduated from Charlo High School.  After high school Bob worked as a farm hand f...

NORTH OAKS, MINNESOTA — Mary Margaret (Marney) Wamsley was born on June 3, 1926, in St. Ignatius and passed away on Feb. 18, 2024, in North Oaks, Minnesota. Marney graduated from St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received a master’s degree from Notre Dame. Following her...

POLSON — Keith Rennie, a devoted husband, beloved father and brother, and cherished grandfather, passed away on June 23, 2024, after a brief but valiant battle with cancer. He was 71 years old. Keith was born on July 1, 1952, in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, and grew up on multiple reservations in New Mex...

ST. IGNATIUS — Shirley Rae Newton Eye, age 85, passed away on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at the Pines of Mission in St. Ignatius. She was born Oct. 18, 1938, in Polson, to Raymond and Pearl (Schmidt) Newton.  She was raised on the Newton ranch and graduated from Polson High School. She got her B....

RONAN — Sharon Jean Turner Hall (Snyder) passed away with family by her side on June 22, 2024, from a battle with metastasized colon cancer. Sharon was a loving, funny and beautiful person. She was there for her parents and siblings as they passed, and her family was there for her.  Sharon was ...

POLSON — Albert Knutson, age 91, passed away on Jan. 18, 2024, at St. Luke Extended Care in Ronan. Memorial services for Albert will be held on Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Polson. Arrangements are under the care of The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory.