Barbara Knox 'Bobbie' Fuller, 94
Barbara Knox “Bobbie” Fuller was a bright and loving daughter, sister to three siblings, mother to three children, grandmother to seven, and great-grandmother to six. She was Aunt Bobbie to many nephews and nieces now living in Montana, Washington, Wyoming and Nevada.
Bobbie was born Aug. 1, 1924 in Great Falls to Joe and Marian Knox and was raised in the Judith Valley north of Stanford on a farm during the depression. Her father died when she was 17 and she had to help her mom on the farm and with running the household. She graduated from Stanford High in 1942. During World War II she worked in Phoenix as a typist and waited for the safe return of her high school sweetheart, Eddie Fuller, from service as an airman in England and 23 months in a German POW Camp after his B-17 was shot down over Germany.
Bobbie and Eddie married in Stanford in 1945 and moved to join Bobbie’s mother to help on a newly purchased farm on the Stillwater River north of Kalispell. There they began a family with the birth of their son, Jeffrey, in 1946. Eddie started working for the county driving road equipment and then moved the family to Bremerton to work as a welder on Naval ships during the Korean War. The family moved to Conrad Drive in Kalispell where they welcomed two girls, Kathleen and Nancy. Eddie became an electrician and then purchased Ferguson Electric. They raised their children and Bobbie studied nursing and helped put her children through college by working as a practical nurse at Kalispell General Hospital. A few years later they entertained their grandchildren with memorable summer fishing and camping trips. When they were ready to retire they moved to the Village Greens Golf Course community. A few years after Eddies’ death in 2005, Bobbie moved to Prestige Assisted Living at Kalispell. For the last several years she has been under the loving care of Edgewood Memory Care Home in Evergreen.
Bobbie loved music and played piano and organ for family gatherings and she played for services at several churches in the Flathead. She and Eddie were regulars at BJ’s weekly jazz sessions. She volunteered to entertain residents at several retirement and assisted living homes and she played for funeral services for many years. Even as time stole her memory, she was able to play her favorite music on the piano.
She possessed a quiet but steadfast faith that gave her the strength to withstand hardship and loss while setting an example for her family and friends. Everyone who knew her will miss her calm and reassuring presence. Whenever we hear “Amazing Grace,” we will think of her playing it on her piano.
The family is very grateful for the loving care from Edgewood Vista and family and friends.
The family will have a private graveside service at Conrad Cemetery and a celebration of life later. If you wish to remember Barbara, please send donations to one of her favorite charities, Braveheart Chaplains Ministries, at http://braveheartministry.com/, or any veterans charity. Please fill in your information in the online form.