Marie Mildred Scudder, 92

Marie Mildred Scudder passed away Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, in Kalispell.

Born Dec. 17, 1924, in Binghamton, New York, Marie was raised by her mother and father, Leda and Gerald, in a close-knit group of relatives who lived on the same block together in Binghamton.

Marie went on to Middlebury College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree and where she also met her future husband, John Stewart Goff, of Huntington, New York. They were married for 35 years; they had three children. After wandering around a bit and a short stint in Billings and Buenos Aires, the family settled in Stamford, Connecticut, where the kids grew up enjoying life in the beauty of suburban Connecticut with handy access to Marie’s treasured New York City. Escapes to Manhattan were just the ticket for anyone with the intelligence she had and she passed on her many interests in music, dance and theater to her family.

Marie was a friend to all, full of energy to burn, admired by many for her kindness, generosity, amazing culinary abilities and her love of the arts. She’d be in a gallery, going to the symphony, or attending a play every day if she could. She may have been the only reader in her book club who always read the book.

Marie had an incredible memory, squirreling away so much information amassed in her formal and lifelong education. She was, essentially, a dictionary and fact machine.

Later in life, she married Robert “Bob” Knight Dix on her 70th birthday. They had 17 wonderful years together, calling both New Canaan and Redding, Connecticut, home. Inspiring all they met (young and old) with their vitality, they went on many traveling adventures and shared a passion for classical music. They spent summer weeks in a bucolic spot on Echo Lake in Bigfork. They enjoyed hiking in Jewel Basin, trips to Glacier National Park and going to the swimming hole at Echo Lake.

After Bob passed away in 2012, Marie relocated to her beloved Montana, to be closer to the kids and to enjoy the Big Sky Country to the fullest. Her circle of Flathead Valley friends grew. She adored the Glacier Symphony and anything to do with Bigfork and Glacier National Park. Her highlights included late breakfasts at Echo Lake Café with family and friends, a trip to her friend Dan’s birthday party at Gov. Bullock’s home, the Bigfork Rotary Club and the Christmas lights hung by the Elves of Bigfork.

She is survived by her loving family, Craig Stewart Goff and Rosa Goff (Los Angeles), Andrea Marie Goff (Bigfork), Leslie Anne Goff and Paula Montgomery (San Diego), Alisa Goff (Los Angeles), Mary Pat Fisher (Calcutta), Mark Dix and Ann Wardlow (Boston), Anne Dix (Boston) and Robert Dix Jr. and Jennifer Dix (Dallas); also her grandchildren, Bonnie Sarah Marie Goff, her husband Adam Howard, her great-grandson Andrew Bennett Howard (Los Angeles), Christopher John Goff, his wife Lizzie (Kalispell) and James Stewart Goff (Seattle). Her family and friends meant the world to her and were always in her thoughts and heart.

We will all miss her so much.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Glacier Symphony, 69 N. Main St., Kalispell, MT 59901; Glacier National Park Conservancy, 402 9th St. W., Columbia Falls, MT 59912; or ImagineIF Library Foundation, 247 1st Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901.

She is being cremated. Once it warms up, there will be a celebration of Marie’s life and the family will place her ashes in Montana and the East Coast.