We are sad to announce that our mom, Joy Aguilar, fell asleep in death Nov. 22, 2024, at the age of 83. Joy was born Jan. 8, 1941, to Leonard and Martha Brothers. In 1948, she and her sister, Marty, gained a larger family to include seven more siblings. Mom married Pete Aguilar Feb. 8, 1959. Together, they had four children, Toni, Tracie, Pete and Joaquin. On Sept. 8, 1973, Mom married Mack Lack and moved to Wolf Point, Mont. In October 2002, Mom was run over and dragged 16 feet while walking to work! Once she healed up, she retired and together with her sister, Marty, went on an adventure to live in Mexico. She had many fond memories of that time period. Mom was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1968. She had a strong love for and faith in her God, Jehovah. She believed in the wonderful promise of the Bible that there will be a resurrection to a paradise right here on earth. She loved the analogy that we are all on the same train heading for this paradise, but unfortunately she will finish the ride out in the sleeper car. Mom is survived by her four children: Toni (Rodney) Lund of Pablo, Mont., Tracie Aguilar of Polson, Mont., Peter (Ginger) Aguilar of Salmon, Idaho, and Joaquin (Lisa) Aguilar of Three Forks, Mont.; her sisters, Marty Matson in Foley, Ala., Sally Mueller in Lewiston, Idaho, and Margie

Ellen Faye Wood was known to most as Faye Wood. However, she was known by many as Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma. Faye passed away on Jan. 5, 2025, in Billings, Mont. Her final years were spent at Sweetwater Retirement Community in Billings, where she quickly made many friends. Faye was born May 22, 1937, in Sidney, Mont., to Alice and Clinton Chapman and attended schools in Sidney, Mont.; Lambert, Mont.; and North St. Paul, Minn. She graduated from Montana State College (now MSU) in 1959. At the age of 21, her mother’s husband, George Prevost, adopted her and became the biggest blessing to Faye. Her family continues to benefit from George’s hard work and generosity. Faye met Keith Wood while working in Wolf Point, where she taught school from 1959 to 1963. They married on June 15, 1962, in Sidney. As Keith’s journalism career grew during the 1960s, the couple lived in Livingston, Mont.; Billings, Mont.; St. Joseph, Mich.; and Boise, Idaho. The couple returned to Wolf Point in 1970 when Keith’s father asked him to help run the family’s company, Wood’s Powr-Grip. Faye would join WPG in 1974, when the company had only 15 employees. Together, Keith and Faye grew the business and developed strong relationships with distributors worldwide. Keith and Faye were regular attendees of regional glass expos and often traveled to Germany for the International Glasstec shows. The couple often had businesspeople from overseas stay at her home in Wolf Point with Faye as their gracious hostess. Faye was a strong woman and never hesitated to speak her mind. Her ability to manage business was evident in everything she participated in. With her engaging and fearless personality, Faye fostered a family atmosphere that shaped WPG’s company culture. It proved so strong that when the couple made the difficult decision to relocate the company from Wolf

Stanley Duane Sonsteng was born July 22, 1940, the 14th of 15 children born to homesteaders Arnold Odin Sonsteng and Laura Saubak Sonsteng. He was raised on the homestead north of Frazer, Mont., in the Lustre Community. He had many stories of growing up on the farm where he assisted with farm chores. Being primarily grain farmers, they also had cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and a large garden to help provide for the large family. His early education was in a one-room school, the Center Bell School, a mile-and-a-half north of the farm. When it came time for high school, he would stay in Glasgow with older siblings as it was quite a distance from his Lustrearea home to Glasgow. Those included brother Kenneth Sonsteng and sister Mildred Sonsteng Knight and their families. The family built a home at Glasgow on Skylark Road where Stan was able to spend his last two years of high school, graduating in 1958 as a Glasgow Scottie. At the age of 16, Stan began his career at the Glasgow Courier as a ‘printer’s devil’ and worked there until he retired at the age of 74. Yes, 57+ years! He saw a lot of changes and made a lot of friends. He was honored when the auction bills that he painstakingly built for auctioneers in the area received two national awards in competition! When it came to friends, Stan didn’t know any strangers. He made friends wherever he went, whether it was on a train to visit his children in Illinois or in a chair getting chemo in Billings. He took advantage of any opportunity to make a friend and share the love of Jesus and how he found a better way through sobriety. One gentleman he met on the train on one trip had Stan on his Christmas card list for many years. Stan loved music. He played the steel string guitar his whole life. He found his favorite guitar discarded at the dump and taught himself to play. He tuned guitar by ear. His children, grandchildren and many others loved to listen to him as he played and sang, pickin’ and strummin’ his guitar. Stan was always a cowboy at heart, loving the “big sky country” of Montana — “God’s Country” as he often called it. Stan was a recovering alcoholic. He went into treatment for alcoholism on Feb. 3, 1978. He lived the program for the rest of his life. He was an active AA member who sponsored and counseled other alcoholics and was respected for his efforts. From sobriety came a strong relationship with Jesus Christ and he could often be heard witnessing to others in hope of their salvation. Stan was married to Mary V. Galston from 1961 until 1972 and together they had a daughter Deana and son Mitchell. He was married to Teresa Korsmoe from 1981 until 1989. Stan and Terry had son Matthew and daughter Jessica. Stan was very proud of his children and grandchildren. Any conversation with him that led to the subject would make this apparent, and he was very good about making sure to tell them he loved them. He was an avid handholder and hugger.

Ross Ruhd, 48, of Wolf Point died Jan. 8, 2025, in Great Falls. Cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be planned in the spring. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Clifford Jerome, 70, of Poplar died Jan. 9, 2025, in Poplar. The funeral service will be announced at a later date pending the completion of the arrangements. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel of Wolf Point has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Jerri Lynn Smoker Frislie, “One who gives many painted horses” or “Her many painted horses,” 69, died Dec. 23, 2024, at Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point. She was born Oct. 12, 1955, to Kenneth and Theresa (Steele) Smoker. She was joined by brother Kenneth Jr., sister Karen Rose and brother John Rocky. She and her siblings grew up in Poplar, but lived in San Francisco, Calif., and Havre for a brief time. She attended Poplar High School, graduating in 1974. She ran cross country and made it to the state level competition. After high school, she joined the United States Coast Guard during Vietnam and proudly served her country for four years. She attended Mohegan and Thomas Nelson Community Colleges on the East Coast. She met and married fellow Coast Guardsman Harold Bashay Jr. in 1975 to 1981. They had two children Harold Kenneth “Mikey” Bashay III and Yvonne Marie Bashay. After moving back home, she married Terry Boyd Sr. in 1982. From this 11-year marriage, they had two sons, Terry Lee Boyd Jr. and Brian Scott Boyd. They farmed and ranched. She attended Fort Peck Community College. She worked for the Wotanin Wowapi, Environmental Protection Program, Fort Peck Tribal Courts and the Fort Peck Tribal Chairman’s Office. She also taught catechism and confirmation classes at St. Thomas in Brockton and Our Lady of Lourdes in Poplar. She began her career with the United States Postal Service in 1984. She worked in various locations including Poplar, Plentywood, Circle, Nashua, Colstrip, Lame Deer, Forsyth and Wolf Point. She worked her way from clerk to postmaster in her 35 years with the USPS. She met and married Roger Frislie in 2006. They were together until his death in 2015. After her retirement, she took up beading, sewing and crafting Native American regalia. She would often travel to Billings to see her son Terry and would occasionally travel to Las Vegas, Nev., and Dallas,

Eileen Dillon Rigsby, 87, of Wolf Point died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. She was born Feb. 27, 1937, to Clarence and Beatrice (Gagne) Dillon in Wolf Point. She grew up there helping on her parents’ farm and later graduating from high school in Wolf Point. She met Ralph Rigsby, a handsome young seismographer from Texas who was working in the area. They were married in Glasgow on July 2, 1954. They welcomed a son, Kent, in December 1955 and a daughter, Karleen, in October 1967. She was a wonderful cook and also loved to bake special goodies and desserts for friends and family. She was well known for her planters of petunias that many people enjoyed as they drove by the Rigsby home. Over the years, she and Ralph loved to attend their children’s, grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s sporting events. They were active board members of the Wolf Point Museum and a major part of the process for the annual