Shirley Ann Nadeau Matosich, 91
Shirley Matosich passed away peacefully in her sleep on Aug. 24, 2019, at the age of 91 at her home on Swan Lake after a brief and blessed relatively-pain-free battle with pancreatic cancer.
Family and friends will be remembering her life and honoring her memory at a Catholic vigil (wake) at Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home 107 Oak St, Anaconda, MT 59711 at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of Aug. 29, 2019. Viewing begins 5 p.m. A Catholic funeral Mass will be held the following morning at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 401 Alder St, Anaconda, MT 59711. Viewing begins 9:30 a.m. Burial will follow immediately after the Mass at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Anaconda.
Shirley was born on Sept. 14, 1927, in Butte to Emile and Alma Nadeau, the third of their four children. Shirley spent her early years in Butte, and after the death of her mother when Shirley was 10 years old, the family moved to Anaconda where she attended junior high and high school.
On April 3, 1948, she married Steve Matosich, who had recently returned from World War II and was attending the University of Montana. The two had met years before in Anaconda while attending high school together.
Over their 59 years of marriage, Shirley and Steve lived in Missoula, Grass Range, Lewistown, Whitefish and Deer Lodge before retiring in 1981 to the home they built with their own hands on Swan Lake in Northwest Montana. Steve and Shirley enjoyed 26 years of retirement there together before Steve passed away in 2007.
Steve and Shirley were blessed with seven children, two boys and five girls, one of whom died tragically shortly after birth in the hospital in Whitefish. Shirley was an enthusiastic, devoted and caring mother and homemaker. She generously gave to those in need, liberally blessing others through her gift of hospitality. She enjoyed crafts, sewing, and baking, and — in the days before the internet — traced and documented her ancestry back to 15th century France. She was active in each town and faith community in which she and Steve lived. She was president of the Deanery and Women’s Guild in Whitefish. She was an active civic participant, teacher’s aide, and religious education teacher in Deer Lodge, and she was a devoted neighborhood organizer on Swan Lake. She was also very active in each Catholic parish in each community.
One of her greatest joys was gathering her family and friends around her large dining table for a home-cooked meal, at which it was almost mandatory to discuss the issues of the day, share memories, laugh, and make new memories. She was a devoted woman of prayer and possessed a life-long love of reading and a passionate interest in self-improvement. She was always quick to assist others in the excitement of discovery. Music was a daily enjoyment for Shirley. She loved dancing with her husband, and together they could often be found on a Friday or Saturday night dancing at the Bigfork Inn in nearby Bigfork.
Shirley loved to travel by car throughout the western United States with her husband Steve, visiting friends and family. She and Steve were also fortunate to visit Great Britain, France, Yugoslavia, and, in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1998, Italy.
Shirley was preceded in death by her infant daughter, Stephanie, her husband, Steve, her older sisters, Rose and Eileen, and her younger brother “Junior.”
A loving and devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, she is survived by her four daughters, Linda Himsl, Michele Crowley, Nanice Sago and Paula Zimmerman; by her two sons, Mike and Andrew; by 18 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
The family thanks the staff of Frontier Hospice for their kind support and requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department QRU by mail to 100 Ferndale Drive, Bigfork, MT 59911.