Kenneth O. Olson, 86, of Williston, N.D., died at Roosevelt Medical Center in Culbertson on Feb. 14, 2025. He was born Jan. 15, 1939, to Ed C. and Mabel Olson in Williston, N.D. He was raised in educated in Williston. He married Patricia Larsen on Oct. 28, 1961. From the marriage, they had one daughter and one son. They were happily married for 57 years and enjoyed fishing and camping. He was employed by the Williston Meat Packing Plant, then Getter and Black Hills Trucking and was a member of the Williston Moose Lodge for many years. He is survived by his daughter, Rechinda Nelson; son, Wade Olson; two grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and sister, Maxine Nelson. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia; brothers, Morris, Jim, Alvin, Clarence and Floyd; and sisters, Marion Olson, Irene Sundby and Helene Dietrich. Per his request, there will be no funeral services.

Funeral services for Esther Mae Peterson, 85, of Culbertson, Mont., will be Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Culbertson, Mont., with Pastor Gretchen Wagner officiating. Visitation will be held for an hour before the service. A luncheon will be held after the service for a time of fellowship and sharing. Esther will be laid to rest in the Sidney Cemetery in Sidney, Mont. Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home of Sidney, Mont., is assisting the family. Remembrances, condolences and pictures may be shared with the family at www.fulkersons. com. Esther Mae Frank Peterson, 85, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully on Jan. 2, 2025, at Sidney Health Center in Sidney, Mont., leaving behind a legacy of love, warmth and kindness. Esther was born on Jan. 19, 1939, in Dodge, N.D., to Leonard and Elsie (Entzel) Frank and was the cherished only daughter among five doting brothers. Esther's life was one of devotion to her children, grandchildren and her great-grandchild. Her gentle spirit touched all who knew her. Esther was born at home on the family's farm where she grew up helping care for the farm and her younger brothers. The family moved to Sidney, Mont., when Esther was in middle school. After graduating from Sidney High School in 1957, she began her career as a telephone operator with Mountain States Telephone Company where she formed lasting friendships. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Allen Peterson, of Culbertson, Mont. On Nov. 15, 1959, the two were married and began their lives together in Culbertson, where they raised three children: Paula, Darin and Kelly. On Nov. 15, 2024, the couple celebrated 65 years of marriage by renewing their wedding vows at the Sidney Health Center chapel surrounded by their children. Esther’s greatest joy was being a mother and grandmother. She took immense pride in every milestone, whether it was a game, concert, or school event. Esther was the best listener, supporting her children and grandchildren with unwavering attention. Even in her later years, when her eyesight faded, Esther found a way to stay connected to her grandkids’ activities, using her iPad to watch and be part of their lives from afar. Her love for her family was boundless, and her home was always open with a heart full of warmth, care and favorite treats. Esther’s life was marked by service to others. She remained close to the friends she made as a phone operator, participated in the Red Hat Society, and volunteered at the local food bank, Trinity Lutheran Church and WELCA. She took great joy in her work on Election Day, serving alongside her close friends. One of Esther’s fondest memories was when her children came home to visit. She would spoil them with their favorite desserts, making sure they left with too much food, and always, without fail, stood in front of the large picture window, waving goodbye until they were out of sight. Then, she would wait for the phone call to ensure her loved ones had made it home safely. She looked so forward to calls from the kids. Esther loved the simple pleasures of life including gardening, caring for her plants and reading. She and Allen would make a day of traveling to Williston, N.D., and Sidney, enjoying their favorite restaurants along the way. Weekly visits to the Senior Citizens Center were a tradition, giving Esther and Allen the chance to catch up on the latest Culbertson stories. Allen and Esther loved their road trips, traveling to bank conventions, tax school and to see the grandkids. They enjoyed trips to Germany, the Panama Canal and her favorite destination, Hawaii. Esther will be remembered as the sweetest soul, a woman who lit up every room she entered with her smile and kindness. She made every person she spoke with feel like they were the most important person in the world. Her spirit will live on in the hearts of all who had the privilege of loving her. Esther is survived by her devoted husband of 65 years, Allen Peterson; her children, Paula (Chadd) Wheeler of Billings, Mont., Darin (Polly) Peterson of Jamestown, ND., and Kelly (Peni) Peterson of Watford City, N.D.; her six grandchildren, Andrew, Paige, Courtney, Michael, Kayla and Lindsay; one great-grandchild, Aven; her brothers Raymond and Harold (Edith) Frank; sisters- in-law, Marilyn and Marlene Frank; many nieces and nephews; and countless friends, including Bruce and Judy Waldhausen. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Elsie (Entzel) Frank; brothers, Elmer, Art and Ervin Frank; sister-in-law, Donna Frank; and two nieces, Suzanne and Lisa Frank. Esther’s love will remain in our hearts forever, and we will cherish the beautiful memories she created with us. She mothered with care and concern until the end when she was welcomed into her final resting place with her Lord. (Paid Obituary)

Marietta Fachner, 95, died Dec. 20, 2024. She was born in Culbertson to Virgil and Stella Albert and joined her older brother and only sibling, Elston. The family moved to Wolf Point when she was young, and she lived there until 1984. She married Arlin “Arlie” Fachner on Dec. 21, 1947, and they had two children, Penny and Wesley. She lived a quiet life of devotion to her Lord and to her family. She and Arlie moved to Missoula in 1984 to join Penny and her family. They made many cherished friends in Missoula and were faithful members at Christian Life Center. She was preceded in death by her husband, Arlie; and her son, Wesley. She is survived by daughter, Penny Rodli; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family plans to have a private, family committal service and will schedule a memorial service in the spring of 2025.

Karla Joy Marcella (Nielsen) West died Nov. 30, 2024, at her daughter’s home in Whitefish. She was born July 11, 1948, in Plentywood and was one of the first in her family to be born in the hospital. She was the ninth and youngest daughter of Niels Peter “Pete” Nielsen and Vita Marcella (Hansen) Nielsen, and sibling to Beatrice (died in infancy), Howard, Gloria, Jane, Marie, Mark, Paul and Jimmy. She enjoyed a fun-filled childhood on their family homestead in Westby, attending the local country school in which nine of the 11 students were cousins or siblings. She loved spending her days with the horses and playing basketball with her brother, Jimmy. When she was 12, her parents moved from their country farm into the town of Plentywood. She was active in school, participating in student council, the trampoline team, Spanish Club, playing the trombone in band, singing in vocal ensembles and accompanying the choir on piano. She enjoyed spending time with her friends and watching her brother, Jimmy, compete in basketball. In her free time, she played the organ for Plentywood Lutheran Church every Sunday. She graduated from Plentywood High School in 1966 and left Montana to attend Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., taking summer classes to graduate early in 1969. Immediately following graduation, she took her first teaching job in Froid. Her brother, Jimmy, taught nearby and she enjoyed living close to him and his new family. She was offered a position teaching business and Spanish at Medicine Lake. It was there she met and married Don West. They took their passion for music to New England, N.D., teaching at St. Mary’s Catholic School. It was in New England that they welcomed daughter, Kelly. Shortly after Kelly was born, the family left New England to start a new adventure in Fort Collins, Colo. Daughter Kimberly joined the family in Ft. Collins and Karla continued her teaching career at Poudre High School and Poudre Junior High. The couple parted ways but remained close friends over the decades. She was involved in several music groups including the Colorado State University marching band and the Larimer Chorale. She met Chris Schatte during this time, and they married in 1983. The new family moved to San Jose, Calif., where he worked as scientific researcher for NASA. She fine-tuned her business skills with a job for a company managing retirement communities. While in California, daughters Erica and Jill were born only one year apart. The Challenger tragedy gave Chris and Karla time to consider other career possibilities, and they decided to move back to Karla’s beloved state of Montana. In 1986, only a few weeks after Jill’s birth, the family chose Whitefish as their new hometown. The family bought the local restaurant “R” Place, later changing it to Sunnys. Chris and Karla eventually parted ways, but stayed friends over the years. She returned to education two years later, working with the Flathead Job Service and FVCC to create the Word Processing/Clerical Program helping to prepare students with skills to be successful in the modern workplace. She loved helping people who were struggling and saw the program as a way for individuals to become self-sufficient. Students connected with her as recently as two weeks ago to talk and share their appreciation for her. More recently, she was instrumental in adding a music program to FVCC’s offerings and continued to teach business and accounting classes until just a few years ago. In 2007, she married John Goodrich, a fellow musician, and music continued to be a major component of her life. She was the primary organist and musical director for St. Charles Catholic Church for 37 years, the musical director for Whitefish Theater Company for more than two decades, festival director of the Glacier Jazz Stampede for 20 years, and director for the youth Dixieland Jazz camp, Camp Heebie Jeebies. In addition to the events she organized, she was an active member for the Cowboy Country & the Gold Dust Girls, the Shady Ladies, Rocky Mountain Rhythm Kings, Flathead Ragtimers, Good Tyme Jazz Band, Flathead Community Band, Hume Street Jazz Band, Montana Highlanders Bagpipe Band and many others. The last few years she partnered with her daughter, Kelly, to bring her passion for music and education to the seas with Dixieland Trad Jazz Cruises. She also volunteered for NW Montana Arms Collectors Association at the Les Bauska Target Range and competed in Fast Draw events around western states. She became a very active piece of her daughter, Kimberly’s restaurant group in 2014 as a business partner with her granddaughters, Amber and Cassie. Together they opened a unique speakeasy style restaurant, The Jawbone, in White Sulphur Springs. She was preceded in death by her husband, John; and siblings, Beatrice, Howard, Gloria, Jane and Jimmy. She is survived by her four daughters, Kelly Haverlandt of Whitefish, Kimberly Durham of Missoula, Erica Schatte of Kalispell and Jill Lautaret of Whitefish; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A funeral mass was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Plentywood on Saturday, Dec. 7. Burial was at Emmaus Cemetery in Westby.

Raymond Mathew Mrachek, 85, of rural Alexander, N.D., died at the Bethel Lutheran Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Williston, N.D., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. He was born on Feb. 23, 1939, to Mike and Evelyn Mrachek in Williston, N.D. He attended elementary school in a one room schoolhouse in Charboneau, N.D. He graduated high school in 1957 in Alexander, N.D. He graduated from North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., and was so proud that his grandson Cayden is now attending the same college. He married his first wife Betty Mrachek and she brought five stepchildren along with her to bless this bachelor’s life. She died from cancer in 1994. He then married Anne Skedsvold at Don and Phyllis Links’ farmstead on Sept. 14, 1995, and they spent 29 years together. Anne also blessed him with two more stepchildren. He was a farmer/rancher, a bus driver, cattle artificial insemination technician and crop adjuster. He also worked at the Sitting Bull Auction for many years and looked forwards to announcing the Alexander Old Settlers Parade, which he did for over 30 years. He was a lifetime active member of the Alexanders Lions Club, and Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church. He enjoyed flowers, listening to the birds and Sunday drives after church to check crops and cattle. He enjoyed spending his time with family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Anne Mrachek; daughter, Robyn Heck of Sidney; stepdaughters, Cindy Schroeder of Mandan, N.D., Rayne Romo of Bainville, Carrie Torgerson of Beulah, N.D., and Michelle Maxwell of Bismarck, N.D.; stepsons, Randy Jost of Dickinson, N.D., Rocky Jost of Walla Walla, Wash., Michael Rothenheber of Fargo, N.D.; sisters, Dorothy Monger of Williston, N.D., Delores Rod of Williston, N.D., and Rose Hollan of Bismarck, N.D.; 14 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Betty Mrachek. Father Jacob Degele celebrated his mass of christian burial on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Williston. Interment in Alexander Cemetery followed.

Gertrude Egeland Sundsted, 100, of Plentywood died Nov. 26, 2024. She was born Sept. 26, 1924, to Olav and Ingeborg Vik, immigrants from western Norway. She grew up on the family farm west of Reserve, the second daughter of five children. She attended her local country school, Rose Valley, through the eighth grade, spent three years of high school in Medicine Lake and her senior year at Oak Grove Academy in Fargo, N.D., graduating in 1943. Her parents had a strong belief in the value of education, and all children went on to pursue higher degrees. She continued her education at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn., preparing to teach at a secondary level. Teachers were in short supply during World War II, so she interrupted her education to teach for a school term at Lew Wallace School, east of Antelope. The next year, she returned to Augsburg College and graduated June 2, 1948. After a year of teaching history and social studies at Oak Grove, she decided that younger children were more to her liking. She returned to Sheridan County where she accepted a teaching position at the Wanso School south of Redstone. That winter of 1949-1950 turned out to be a harrowing experience. She was snowed in and isolated for so long that she ran very low on food and firewood. Her father eventually came by sled and rescued her. Deciding it would be safer to live in town, she taught third and fourth grade at Medicine Lake the next year. In 1951, she began to date Jorgen Egeland, a fellow Norwegian and acquaintance from childhood, and they married in July. The Egelands farmed in east Reserve, raising mostly small grains. They also had milk cows and chickens for their own use and sold eggs and cream products in the community. Five daughters and one son were born to this union. Their oldest child, Karen, presented a special challenge in that she was severely handicapped with cerebral palsy. Although Gertrude worried that her other children’s needs too often came second to those of Karen, she came to realize that Karen taught the family to accept difficult things with grace and to appreciate life’s blessings. She found that writing, especially poetry, helped her work through the trauma and helped her commit her loved ones to God’s care. She liked being at home, enjoying reading and teaching her children to love music and to appreciate their Norwegian heritage. Jorgen, and later Jens, were drafted Gertrude Sundsted

Matthew Lynn Vannatta, 58, died Nov. 25, 2024, at his home west of Williston, N.D. He was born Jan. 20, 1966, to Marlyn and Karen (Rossland) Vannatta, in Tioga, N.D. He moved with his family to Parshall, N.D., at the age of two. Even at that young age, he was developing a hardcharging personality. His parents owned Parshall Wesco Propane and he often would help his dad deliver propane or work on heating systems. When he was nine, the family moved to Bainville, where they farmed/ranched 1,700+ acres. He loved the outdoors, driving heavy equipment and working the cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens. His CB handle was “Choreboy” and his parents depended on him to keep the animals fed. He graduated from Bainville High School in 1984. He was active in basketball, the school play, FFA and random mischief. He attended the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, N.D., where he earned an associate degree in electronics. It didn’t take long for him to realize that a desk job wasn’t in his future. In 1987, he began his 37-year career at Franz Construction, where he worked with heavy equipment, building everything from roads to oil sites. He was also an inventor in his own right. When faced with a problem on the job site, he engineered creative solutions, building tools or modifying machines to get the job done. In the summer of 1990, his life took a turn when he attended a celebratory party for an annual trail ride over Labor Day weekend. That night, as the music played and the laughter echoed, a 5’3” long-haired, brown-eyed girl caught his eye and he asked her to dance. After a short courtship, he married Carla Jane Huck on June 1, 1991. He faced challenges in life with the same head-strong way he approached everything. In July 1996, he was in a car accident that broke his back in two places. Those injuries usually end in paralysis, but he would not allow that to be his fate. In March 2011, he and Carla lost their home to a house fire. Since he wasn’t one to sit back and say “woe is me,” he was digging out the rubble within

Betty Jean McGinnis, 98, of Culbertson died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at Roosevelt Medical Center in Culbertson. A celebration of life was held Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Culbertson with Pastor Gretchen Wagner officiating. Interment was in the Cherry Creek Cemetery near Culbertson.