Obituaries
The Bigfork Eagle runs obituaries and death notices for people who have lived in the Bigfork area.
To submit, e-mail editor@bigforkeagle.com or call 837-5131.
Deadlines are every Monday at noon.
Betty A. LeDuc
Betty Ann LeDuc, 86, died in Kalispell on Monday, May 31, 2010.
She was born March 1, 1924, in Devils Lake, N.D., to George and Josephine Holgerson.
Betty Ann graduated from Central High School in Devils Lake where she was a Homecoming queen and an honor student. She met and married her soul mate and love of her life, Robert LeDuc, in Seattle in 1942.
Bob and Betty Ann moved to Seattle during World War II and she worked for Boeing Co. as a clerical worker while Bob was an Army engineer. While in Seattle, she gave birth to their first son, Trent, in 1945.
They returned to North Dakota after WWII and then moved to Montana in 1951. She and Bob owned and operated several small businesses: the Kalispell Bar, a vending machine business and the Golden Wheels Mobile Home and RV Center, to name a few. In 1954, Betty Ann gave birth to their second child, Scott.
Betty Ann raised a beautiful loving family and enjoyed the community and outdoors that Montana had to offer. She was the perfect mother, always performing her maternal instincts with love, adoration, kindness, comfort and guidance.
Over the many years of child rearing, you would always be sure that Betty Ann was watching over her two sons, husband and mother Josephine, who lived with the family.
When not with the family, she enjoyed spending time with Bob dancing up a storm, from the big band ballroom music. Dancing from North Dakota to Seattle, they would frequent dance halls and dance the night away to swing and jitterbug.
She loved jazz and was a proud member of the local jazz society and especially liked the Arnie Carruthers Band and the Don Lawrence Orchestra.
Betty Ann was proud member of the Elks Club and she and Bob operated the Elks Resort on Flathead Lake from 1967 to 1970. She enjoyed traveling the country and abroad via planes, trains, boats and cruise ships to near and far away places.
She was an elegant, beautiful lady with class and style. She was recruited by local dress shops and department stores (the KM and Anderson's Style Shop) when in the 60s and 70s they would put on fashion shows at the Elks Club, hotels and convention centers. Betty Ann also enjoyed fishing and cruising on Flathead Lake, as well as the Lake Blaine gathering cabin owned by Bob's sister, Donna. Countless family outings were enjoyed by all the aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Above all, Betty Ann possessed the gift of love and happiness that she bestowed on all the lives she touched. She will be dearly missed but fondly remembered by all who knew her.
She is preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Gordon and Donald, and one sister, Leona.
She is survived by her husband, Robert "Bob" LeDuc; two sons, Trent LeDuc and wife Sheila and Scott LeDuc and wife Joyce, all of Kalispell; five grandchildren, Ryan LeDuc and wife Kathy, Tye LeDuc and wife Jessica, Angela LeDuc, Kyle LeDuc and Paige LeDuc all of Kalispell, and numerous great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life was held for Betty Ann on Friday, June 4, at 10 a.m. at Risen Christ Catholic Church followed by burial at Glacier Memorial Gardens. A reception followed the burial at the church.
Visitation was Thursday June 3, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a rosary following at 7 p.m. at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home. The family suggests memorials be given in her name to Religious Retirement, Risen Christ Church, 65 W. Evergreen Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901.
Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Betty Ann's family. Visit www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and view Betty Ann's tribute wall.
Blanche Seccombe
Bigfork's most senior citizen passed away on May 28, 2010.
Born in Highland, California on Nov. 17, 1901, to John and Mattie Coy, Blanche had two brothers, Clifford and Jack, Jr. Her father was a graduate of Pomona College in 1898 and agricultural commissioner of S.B. Co. from 1915-1941.
Blanche married Lyle Seccombe in 1923 and attended Oregon Agricultural College in Corvallis, Ore., with Lyle graduating in engineering.
Blanche and Lyle returned to San Bernadino to start a family. As jobs were scarce in the Great Depression, Blanche and Lyle ran cafes in the San Bernadino and Crestline area to support their five children.
Lyle had intermittent jobs in his field before a personal tragedy befell them. Their home in highland burned down. Their family members all escaped the fire, but with little but the clothes on their backs.
Later, Lyle joined the Army Corps of Engineers, enjoying their travels, beadwork crafts, and cactus gardening. They lived short-term in many locations including Weaverville, Calif., and Biloxi, Miss., while Lyle worked on flood-control projects.
After retirement, Blanche and Lyle spent their summers camping and fishing in Woods Bay, while wintering in Yucaipa, Calif.
In 1986, Lyle passed away at age 84. After living a number of years in Yucaipa, in 1995 Blanche moved to Bigfork, also, to be near two adult children.
In 2001, most of the family gathered at a church camp on Flathead Lake to celebrate Blanche's 100th birthday.
Blanche kept active with her crafts and was still able to sew beautiful seed beadwork until just a few years ago. Eventually, she relocated to the Lake View Care Center, where she was well cared for.
Blanche was an honoree in the Fourth of July Parade and attended a party hosted by the governor for all Montana centenarians.
Also preceding her in death was daughter Peggy Miller.
Survivors include sister-in-law Eleanor Seccombe, of San Bernadino; daughters Mary Lou Schmidt, Evelyn Dahlin, and son Bob Seccombe of Bigfork; son Bill Seccombe of Grants Pass, Ore.; 21 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 40 great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Blanche's life will be held in Southern California on June 26.