- Bertha Eblen passed away peacefully with her daughter and son-in-law at her side on Saturday, March 24. She had come to Kalispell to spend her last days with her family.
She was born July 23, 1926 to Edward and Anna (Clarke) Sullivan. She spent her young life in various places in western Montana where her father found work on farms, ranches and doing odd jobs just to keep his family fed. She graduated from Phillipsburg High School and went on to attend Normal School in Dillon where she obtained a teaching certificate – something she was very proud of.
She then took a job teaching at the Pass Creek rural school north of Belgrade and it was there that she met her future husband Paul Eblen. This confirmed bachelor fell for the young school teacher and they were married in 1947. She became a ranch wife raising huge gardens, feeding hay and harvest hands, and eventually having four children – Paul Wayne, Patty, Colleen, and Mark. Paul and Bertha were married for 22 years until Paul's untimely and sudden death in 1969.
As a widow at the age of 43, she was forced to uproot and took her three younger children, her cattle, and her tenacious and pioneering spirit and moved to a small ranch south of Twin Bridges, Mont. When you are the seventh of eleven children born during the Depression, you become a survivor – and survive she did! She ranched until the age of 60 when she sold the cows to her nephew and went to work for the Forest Service in Sheridan, Mont. She worked as a forestry aide for 12 years before retiring at the young age of 72!
She was very active in her church, played cards as often as she could, and was what one of her close friends described as a "country socialite." She was very proud to own her little piece of Montana despite living in an old farm house with wood heat, septic problems, and a driveway that drifted shut in the winter. Thanks to her many dear friends in the Twin Bridges area, she was able to maintain her independence there until ill health forced her to move to Kalispell to be with her daughter and son-in-law in January of this year. She was truly the epitome of a life lived her way and a life well lived!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul; her daughter, Colleen; her son, Paul Wayne; and nine brothers and sisters. She also lost her baby great-granddaughter, Carly Raeann Dickey a week before she moved to the Flathead and that was a very sad day in her life.
She is survived by her sister, Marguerite Logan (Bob) in Medina, Tenn.; her son, Mark Eblen in Helena; her daughter, Pat Dickey (Dave); grandchildren, Patrick Eblen (Brenda) in Seattle, Wash.; Bridget Pedersen (John) in Wasilla, Alaska; Brian Dickey (Carrie), Clarke Dickey, and Justin Dickey (Heather) all in the Kalispell area; and great-grandchildren, Blake, Delaney, and Kaden Pedersen; Jack Dickey; and Aubree Dickey; She is also survived by her precious extended family of many nieces and nephews who came to visit during her last days.
Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, March 30 at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Twin Bridges, with graveside services following at the Morgan Cemetery north of Belgrade. The family suggests donations may be made to Home Options Hospice, c/o Northwest Healthcare Foundation, 310 Sunnyview Lane, Kalispell, MT 59901 or the Notre Dame Catholic Church, Twin Bridges, MT 59754.
Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home in Kalispell and K & L Mortuary in Twin Bridges are caring for Bertha's family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to view Bertha's tribute wall, offer condolences, and share memories.
Published in Bozeman Daily Chronicle on Mar. 28, 2012
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Waller-Joos-Stetzler
1926 - 2012 (85 years)
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