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Local Obituaries

Grant Alan Stafne

Posted (Friday, March 22nd 2024)

Grant was born on July 28, 1967 to A. T. “Rusty” and June Shields Stafne in San Jose, CA.

He joined a sister, Twilia Bear Cub and a brother Tom. The family moved back to Montana and the Fort Peck Reservation shortly after his birth. Grant had so much energy and always was doing something crazy. His sense of humor was on point always and he teased everyone and I mean everyone for no one was safe from him. Laughter followed Grant where he was. He kept the family on their toes with his antics. He attended school in Wolf Point, Mt. graduating in 1985. That year, he went to state in track for high jump. He went to HASKELL for two years and Dawson Community College. He loved sports such as basketball and baseball. But his favorite is Rodeo. Specifically, the Wild Horse Race. He won many events and had championship belt buckles from all over. He belonged to the Fort Peck Rodeo club and the INFR. He was instrumental in getting the Fort Peck Rodeo established and part of the circuit. He loved riding horses and was planning on team roping with his friends this summer.

He worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs starting in 1993 to 1998 as a realty clerk at Fort Peck Agency. He then became a Realty Specialist in Fort Belknap until 2001. Where he went to work in Billings as the Realty Specialist for the Rocky Mountain Region. He was detailed to Albuquerque, New Mexico as a Realty Officer then in October of 2002, he went to Nashville, TN where he became a country singer..sang at the Grand ole Opry.(Gotcha Grant-you’d do that to me!) No, really he was a Realty officer for the Eastern Region, Division of Trust Responsibilities. In 2003, he moved back to Fort Belknap as Realty Officer, then became the BIA Deputy Superintendent in 2004-2008. Grant moved back home to the Fort Peck Reservation to be the BIA Deputy Superintendent at the Agency, 2008-2011. He loved his people and served on the Fort Peck Tribal Executive board with our dad as Tribal Chairman for a few years. Grant then served his brothers faithfully, the Tataga(buffalo). Grant felt the need to run again for tribal executive board winning a seat. In 2022, Grant saw that the Fort Peck Agency needed a Deputy Superintendent-Trust and applied for the position where he served until his death.

Grant married Mary Jackson and had all sons. They later divorced. Grant was a great single father for years. He took pride in his cooking, often posting pictures of his cuisine he would chef up. He coached little league baseball for his boys. He loved following the Wolf Point Wolves Basketball team, being their biggest fan. He was so proud of his boys. He fell in love with the beautiful Clarissa Bell from Fort Belknap the summer of 2023. They became engaged and were to be married in the summer. They were the happiest couple around.

Grant was diagnosed with colon cancer in November and had surgery to remove the tumor in December. He was in the process of chemotherapy in the stage 3 process. He succumbed to it on March 15, 2024.

We will never understand why such a great man who loved life, loved his people, his children, his grandchildren, his family, his job, and his friends would be taken from us. The Creator needed him more and am positive there is laughter where he is now.

Survived by his Father A.T. “Rusty” Stafne, sister Twilia Bear Cub, his beloved fiancée Clarissa Bell, his children, Ariana Neutgens, RaShane Walking Eagle, Chryss Jackson, Clay, Cauy, Cade, Chief, and Cewl Stafne. He will be missed by his brother Junior White Eagle (Sandra), nieces June Azure, Jade Daniels, nephews Jordan Stafne, Jesse Daniels, Jace Daniels and Wilder Bear Cub, cousin Sybil Duchene, his Aunts, Sherry Shields, Sandy Azure, and Yvonne Shields. Other survivors are his Uncle Stoney Anketell, Shields cousins, Pipe cousins, Balch cousins, Azure cousins, Baker cousins, James cousins, Cantrell cousins, Denny cousins, Anketell cousins, and Medicine Cloud cousins. He will be terribly missed by his grandchildren, Mia, Jordan, Vanessa, and Rusti Cecelia. His adopted families include the Adams Family, Red Eagle/Dionne family as he took Maureen as his sister, and many more. His work families will miss his wit and knowledge.

He was preceded in death of our mother June Shields Stafne, brother Tom Stafne and his son Delmar Martell. His Aunts Joy Shields, Shirley Shields, Roseann Shields, Joy Martin, Joanne Pipe, Marie Esparza, Uncles Gary Medicine Cloud, Caleb Shields, Ken Azure, Fish Red Stone, Robert Martin, cousins Larry Connor, Pat Clements, Kenny Heathman, Ken Azure, Jr. Antoinette Shields, and John Pipe. We are related to many as we come from the Medicine Cloud/Hancock family, Shields family, Nakoda and Dakota Wadopana and Bad Temper Bear clans. If we left out anyone, it was not intentional, please forgive us we are in shock of losing our GRANT.

A prayer service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 22, 2024 at the Wolf Point Community Hall. Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23,2024 in the Wolf Point High School Auditorium. Burial will take place at the Stafne Ranch. A luncheon will follow back at the Wolf Point Community Hall.

Ralph Korman

Posted (Thursday, March 21st 2024)

Ralph Korman passed away on March 14, 2024, at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital with his family by his side.

“On September 25, 1932, in the afternoon an early snowstorm was moving in and my mother decided it was time for me to greet the world. The place was Granny Korman’s house in Saco, Montana located in Phillips County. Born to Earl and Lola (Stewart) Korman. “Had a good life growing up on the Milk River below Juneburg Bridge.”

“Put two years in the Army 1954-1956. Married Alice Soennichsen on April 26, 1957, and had four kids: Karla, Kathy, Jack, and one stillborn Joel.”

Ralph spent his early years around horses and enjoyed that part of his life immensely. Later he ran a D7 Cat and scraper, building reservoirs and leveling fields, until his retirement. He was talented and liked to draw, paint and sculpt.

Preceding him in death are his wife, Alice, parents, Earl and Lola, and son, Joel.

He is survived by his daughters, Karla Sudbrack and Kathy (John) Anevski; and son Jack; sisters, Carolyn (Gus) Korb, Susan (Michael) Wendland, and Nancy (John) Sparks; Terry (Donna) Korman and Ronnie (Maxine) Korman; grandchildren; Christopher (Erica) Anevski, Michael (Deidra) Anevski, and Jenna Korman; great-grandchildren: Mikai Anevski, Daelyn Anevski, and Calvin Anevski; and numerous nieces and nephews.

“So Long see you all later!”

Services have been postponed until better weather!


Kenneth McLellan Newton

Posted (Monday, March 18th 2024)

Mr. Kenneth McLellan “Kenny” Newton beloved husband, father, and friend passed peacefully in Glasgow, Montana at the age of 100.

Kenny was born on November 30, 1923, in Hobson, Montana to William “Bill” Newton and Annie McLellan Newton. In June 1935, Kenny, his mother and brother Dean would move to join their father in Glasgow, Montana. His father purchased a car dealership in Glasgow where he sold Hudson-Terraplanes during the Fort Peck Dam construction boom. Kenny would go on to graduate from Glasgow High School in 1941 and shortly after married Shirley Elliott, his high school sweetheart in Elizabethtown, Kentucky as Kenny was serving in the United States Army.

Kenny served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His Army training at Camp Atturbury in Indiana began auspiciously when he met fellow barracks-mate, Mel Mellinger. The two became fast friends and bonded over their mutual faith. The friendship would prove to serve them both well during their deployment in the Eastern theater as part of the 143rd Infantry Regiment.

Not long after their arrival in Europe in December 1944, Kenny and Mel would be captured along with other Allied Forces during the Battle of the Bulge. They would spend the next couple months in a Nazi prison camp north of Dresden, Germany. The pair would eventually decide they would rather risk their lives trying to escape than die under the brutal conditions at the camp. The pair did indeed escape and spent several days making their way across the countryside trying to reconnect with the Allies. While hiding in a barn loft on an old German homestead the pair would be recaptured and imprisoned in a nearby city. Soon after their second imprisonment, they would be force marched away from the advancing Russian forces. On this march, Kenny and Mel would be separated. Kenny managed to escape a second time and make his way to a Red Cross station and eventually to hospitals in Paris and New York to treat his injuries. The two friends would eventually reunite back in the States and remained the closest of friends until Mel’s passing.

Kenny would return to his family in the Summer of 1945. He reunited with his bride, Shirley, and their little girl Carole. Kenny and Shirley would go on to have six children: Terry, Tim, Ted, Lorie, and Lisa, over the course of their sixty-six-year marriage. Shirley would pass in April 2009. Kenny had a granite bench made and placed at Highland Cemetery. For years following her passing, Kenny would visit with Shirley giving updates on the “goings-on”, the business, and their family. He would often end those visits by telling her he loved her and joking he would see her just as soon as God was done with him.

Not long after the war, Kenny began to ply his trade in the same way his Father had done. Kenny Newton was by many accounts a natural-born salesman. His charisma, business savvy, and fortitude would lead him to start Newton Motor’s Inc. in 1950 in Glasgow, MT. It was not uncommon for Kenny to wake up early and park a new vehicle in an unsuspecting customer’s driveway and then call them to ask if their wife liked the color. On more than one occasion his tactics would prove successful. Kenny would continue to “work the phones” well into his eighties. He also delighted working side-by-side with his sons Terry and Ted at the dealership along with Tim’s help and guidance at the bank.

Kenny’s passion for service continued in his community long after he left the military. He served in numerous local organizations including Shriners, a seventy-one-year member of the Elks Lodge No. 1922, a seventy-year member as a Mason at North Star Lodge #46 and a seventy-eight-year member of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 41. Never one to rest on his laurels, Kenny would spend much of his free time tinkering in his garage building birdhouses, gardening or taking care of the landscape around the home he and Shirley had made overlooking the Milk River valley. He was a faithful man and was an active member of the Glasgow Congregational Church and subsequently the Glasgow Lutheran and Glasgow Evangelical churches.

He was a man of faith and a servant to those around him. If ever someone needed a helping hand, he would reach out with both. Through his traumatic and miraculous experience during his military service, to his forty-one years of sobriety, to his sudden blindness early in 2002, Kenny learned to see the positive in even the bleakest circumstances and to strive to walk alongside those who may have stumbled.

Kenny is preceded in death by his Mother and Father, brother Dean Newton, sisters Donna (Frank) Lacina and Elaine (Gene) Etchart. He is survived by his children; Carole Appling, Terry Newton, Tim (Karen) Newton, Kenneth L. “Ted” (Karen) Newton, Lorie (Bob Sachs) Newton and Lisa (Andy) McCormick; grandchildren, Cindy (Scott) Marquart, Douglas (Katie) Hegglin, Suzy (Dave) Brown, Amy (Todd) Aune, Juli (Cody) Cornwell, Bill (Arron) Franzen, Andy Newton, Dyan (Ben) Garcia, Ross (Asha) Franzen, Shawn Newton, Jackson McCormick and Clay McCormick; great-grandchildren Chris (Allie) Marquart, Tom (Rachel) Marquart, Jake (Kelsey) Newton, Charlie Cornwell, J.P. Cornwell, Jack Cornwell, Tee Aune, Demi (Keelan) Aune Taber, Tel Aune, Daley Aune, Brooke Franzen, Jayden Franzen, Zoey Garcia, Colton Garcia, Dakota Franzen and Beau Franzen; as well as nieces and nephews; Michelle (Steve) Page, Joe (Pat) Etchart, Mike Newton, Todd Newton, Kathy Lacina, Sharon (Greg) Lacina Pool, Janeen (Tom) McCarvel, Jackie Fredrickson and numerous great-great grandchildren. He loved and was incredibly proud of them all.

All are welcome to attend and celebrate Kenny’s life. Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 30, at 11:00 AM at the Glasgow Methodist Church, with a reception to follow at the Glasgow Elks Lodge. There will be a viewing at Bell Mortuary Friday, March 29 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to a charity of your choosing. Condolences can be sent to Bell Mortuary 701 2nd Ave. South, Glasgow, Montana.

Michael Ryan

Posted (Monday, March 18th 2024)

Michael Ryan, 88, of Nashua, Montana, formerly of Deerlodge passed away on March 13, 2024, at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital. Services are being planned for later this summer in Deerlodge, Montana.

Debra Bryan

Posted (Monday, March 11th 2024)

Debra Bryan, 90, of Glasgow, Montana, passed away on January 7, 2024, at Valley View Home in Glasgow, Montana. A memorial service is planned for Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Bell Mortuary with Pastor Seth Runner officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

Fay Avon Dahl

Posted (Monday, March 11th 2024)

Fay Avon Dahl – 11/1/33 – 3/6/24

Fay Dahl, our beautiful, loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, 90, gained her angle wings on March 6th at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital with her loving family by her side. Fay was very fortunate to be able to stay in her own home until close to her death. This was due to her youngest daughter, Candy, coming back to Glasgow 8 years ago to stay with her and give her help when she needed it. Under Candy’s loving care, she was able to stay in her home that long.

Fay was born November 1, 1933 in Enderlin, ND to Marvin and Olga Lindemann. She was baptized May 26, 1934 by Pastor Lutness in the Lutheran church in Enderlin, ND.

She married Norman Dahl in February of 1953 in Fargo ND. They were married for 49 wonderful years. The family had lived in Enderlin, Harvey, ND and Langdon ND, before coming to Glasgow in 1964. She worked for Red Owl Stores in Enderlin ND for 5 years and for Gordon’s Foods for 36 years. She also worked for Eugene’s for 2 years. She was a Member of Faith Lutheran Church since 1965. She was also a life member of the VFW Auxiliary.

Her family and grandchildren were very important to her, as well as her day care kids. In their retirement years, Fay and Norm enjoyed making trips to go visit their grandchildren, which took them to Great Falls, Colorado, Kalispell and Arizona.

Fay enjoyed, gardening, her flowers, going to church, visiting, cooking and baking (which she was excellent at). Her homemade bread, buns and lefse were the absolute best!

Preceding Fay in death are her parents, Olga and Marvin Lindemann, husband Norman (Bawky/Stovepipe), mother-in-law and father-in-law, Hans and Rose Dahl, infant daughter Judy Dahl, daughter Cheryl Melikian, grandson Jason Dahl, daughter-in-law Phyllis Dahl, sister Donna Rae Scheie, brother Duane Lindemann and many special family members and friends.

Survivors are her son Keith (Frog) Dahl, Glasgow, Son-in-law George Melikian, Apache Junction, AZ, son Duane (Snuff) and Jody Dahl, Glasgow, daughter Linda and Dennis Gay, Glendive, and daughter Candy Dahl, Glasgow. Sister, Janet Lowe, Newcastle, CA. Grandchildren: Leta Godwin Dahl, Joshua Melikian, Matthew Melikian, Kathryn Barnfather, Patrick Gay, Spencer Gay, Tanner Gay, Alison Moyer, Cassidy Thompson, Jordyn Greene, Hunter Thorson and Tiahna Bell. Fay has 12 Great-grandchildren, 1 great-great granddaughter. A special mention as well of Rae Lynn Komrosky Harris, who Fay was a very proud and loving Godmother to.

Visitation will be Thursday, March 14th at Bell Mortuary, 701 2nd Ave S, Glasgow, MT from 5 – 7 pm.

Funeral service will be Friday, March 15th at First Lutheran Church, 621 2nd Ave. N, Glasgow, MT at 11 am. with Pastor Scott Kiehn officiating and a private family burial to follow at the Highland Cemetery in Glasgow.

A reception will be held at 12:30 at the VFW, 1222 US Hwy 2, Glasgow MT.

Condolences can be sent to 30 Parkview Pl, Glasgow, MT 59230.