Cora Kerestes
Cora Ellen Kerestes, 86, passed away
April 12, 2011. She is now with her Lord and Savior. She is joined
again with her beloved husband, Albert.
Cora was proud of having come from
strong pioneer stock — her grandparents settled in the valley in
1904. She was born Oct. 14, 1924, to Floyd and Edith Payne at her
Pearson grandparents’ home outside of Columbia Falls.
She had many fond memories of life as a
child living in logging camps up in the mountains. She attended
school in Whitefish, graduating in 1942. Days after graduation,
Cora boarded a bus to Washington, D.C., where a job awaited her in
the clerical pool for the U.S. Army. Later, she transferred to
Newark, N.J., and when the war effort wound down, she went to work
for Newark Bell. It was in New Jersey, at Dreamland Roller Rink,
that she met Albert.
After an exciting courtship and several
trips to Montana, Cora and Albert were married Aug. 31, 1947, at
Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish. They returned to New Jersey
and worked a few years before deciding they wanted to make their
home in Montana. In 1950, they moved back to Whitefish.
Cora loved people and lived life to the
fullest. She loved square dancing, camping, her church and her many
friends. She taught Sunday school for years and enjoyed working
with youth. Cora enjoyed doing genealogy and spent years
researching and recording the family’s history and stories as well
as the history of the upper Flathead Valley.
Cora was preceded in death by her
parents, Floyd and Edith Payne, and her husband of 61 years,
Albert.
Cora leaves one son, Glen Kerestes and
wife Kathy, of Billings; one granddaughter, Amy Larsen and husband
Chris, of Roundup; and twin great granddaughters, Megan and
Elizabeth Larsen, of Roundup. She also leaves behind numerous
cousins and the countless friends she has made everywhere she has
gone.
The family would like to thank everyone
at The Springs at Whitefish, who Cora thought of as not caregivers
and residents but as her family. Also special thanks goes to the
staffs of the North Valley Hospital and Christ Lutheran Church, and
all of Cora’s friends for the help and support they have provided
to Cora and her family.
A memorial service April 18, 2011.
Interment was at the Fairview Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be
made to the Klothes Kloset at 288 N. Nucleus Ave. in Columbia
Falls., or to the North Valley Hospital Foundation at 1600 Hospital
Way in Whitefish.