Janne Tyler Patten Baldridge

Janne was born on May 22, 1928, the first child of Ted and Gayle Tyler, and grew up in Iowa on the banks of the Mississippi River with brother Bill and sister Carolee.

She played drums for the Scottish drill team at Fort Madison High, graduating in 1946, and continued with the Highlanders drill team at the University of Iowa, where she earned a degree in French in 1950.

She met her first husband, Jim Patten, at Iowa City, and they relocated to Missoula where Jim attended law school, eventually settling in Billings and raising their five children.

After a divorce, Janne married Greg Baldridge in 1982, and together they started second careers in hotel management in California and Nevada, and enjoyed traveling to Mexico, golfing and grandchildren. After retiring in 1992, Janne and Greg moved to Whitefish.

We are grateful that she was able to remain stubbornly independent in her own apartment until the last months of her life.

Janne was preceded in death by Greg in 2006. She is survived by her brother, Bill (Diane); sister, Carolee (Jack Litvay); sons, Tom (Vicki), Andy (Judy), John (Liz), and Bill (Carol); daughter, Katie (Leonard Tinnell); step-children, Melissa (Harry Harrison), Widge (Mary), and Summerfield (Julie); 20 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mom loved bagpipes, reading recipes out loud, and Ronald Reagan. She was an avid knitter and we all have sets of brightly colored socks to match the ones she knitted for herself. She passed away peacefully on Jan. 3, 2013 after a too brief residency in Missoula.

Nous vous aimons, Maman. Bonne nuit.