Culbertson Women's Club member Lanette Bidegaray (right) received a $1,000 donation from First Community Bank vice-president Wayne Hendrickson. The money will be added to the grant application matching funds needed to upgrade the Culbertson swimming pool. (Submitted photo)

Sharon Lee (Bonebright) Rau, 78, of Billings, formerly of Sidney, died Dec. 19, 2021. She was born June 30, 1943, in Williston, N.D. to Everett and Grace Bonebright. She was one of three children. She was raised in Culbertson where she graduated high school. Some of her fond memories of growing up in Culbertson were sledding down Skunk Hill and working at the Tastee Freeze. After graduation from Culbertson High School, she attended college at the University of Montana in Missoula where she had been awarded a music scholarship. She married Douglas Rau on Jan. 19, 1968. They had three children: Seana, Rhetta and Justin. She wore a number of hats in the public eye. First and foremost, she was the mother of three children who were in sports, rodeo, music competitions and 4-H. Every year before fair time, she would help her children halter break steers, polish horse hooves and time them on rodeo events. She would often pack up the camper, load the horse trailer and take the children to their rodeo events around Montana, North and South Dakota. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, she was a social worker and then the executive director of the Richland County Welfare Department. After 12 years with the welfare department, she retired and then worked as a music teacher at Rau School for 13 years. She would coordinate the annual Rau School Christmas play. Her last rewarding job was being the director of the Chamber of Commerce in Sidney for 13 years until 2004 when she suffered a severe brain injury. After numerous brain surgeries and months of rehabilitation, she was able to go back to work part-time. She also stayed active within her church community. She thoroughly enjoyed organizing events for the town such as Arts in the Park, the Sunrise Music Festival, Peter Paddlefish Day and the Christmas Stroll. She played a big role in shaping the businesses that make up the Sidney community and, for many, a part of their success can be attributed to her hard work and dedication to Sidney. She was the first female Kiwanis president. Senators had mailed her letters telling her congratulations on that accomplishment. After her husband’s death, she later sold the farm and briefly bought a townhouse in Sidney before moving to Billings to be closer to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved scrapbooking and was very passionate about showing off her family. She had also enjoyed ceramics, started a t-shirt design business and anything with being creative. She loved playing games and would never pass up a good game of Farkle. She was preceded in death by her husband, Doug; sister, Joyce Persson; and brother, Gary Bonebright. She is survived by daughters, Seana Rau of Billings and Rhetta Rau of Billings; son, Justin Rau of Big Sky; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Funeral services were Wednesday, Dec. 22, at Ebenezer Congregational Church in Sidney with Pastor David Meehan officiating. Interment was in the Sidney Cemetery.

EMS director Teresia Moore (right) received a donation on Dec. 16 from First Community Bank vice president Wayne Hendrickson for the Emergency Services Department at Roosevelt Medical Center. The money will be used to help purchase needed medical equipment or provide specialized training to emergency medical responders. (Photo submitted)

First Community Bank of Froid donated to the Froid baseball program for upkeep on its field. (Photo submitted)

in 1984 where he continued with MDU until his retirement in 1997. After a 15-year battle with Parkinson’s and 10 days shy of his 87th birthday, our beloved James “Jim” Rowe passed into the loving arms of our Lord Jesus on Dec. 13, 2021. On Dec. 23, 1934, Leslie and Erma Rowe welcomed their first son to the world, James Clifford Rowe. He was later joined by a sister, Jean, and a brother, Jerry. As a young boy during the summers, he enjoyed working on his Uncle Elmer’s farm east of Scobey. He also enjoyed both bull and saddle bronc riding. Rodeos were a fun pastime for him. Jim graduated from Wolf Point High School in 1953. He then attended college in both Wahpeton, N.D., and Havre, Mont. In 1956, Jim was drafted by the Army and spent two years serving our country in Germany. After leaving the Army, Jim worked for Montana State Highway Department. One snowy night on a visit home, Jim went into Butzies and from across the room saw a beautiful young woman bowling, who would end up not even a year later his wife. On June 27, 1959, Jim married the love of his life, Patricia Hoffman, at the Methodist Church in Culbertson, Mont. They made their first home in Malta, Mont., where their first child, a daughter, Paula Jean was born. They then moved to Lincoln, Mont. They decided to leave the state department and move to his uncle’s farm east of Scobey. During this move, their first son, Larry Warren was born. They lived on this farm for three years before Jim started working for Nash Brothers. They then moved to Redstone, Mont., for three years where their last child, a son, Steven James, was born. From there, they moved to Four Buttes, Mont., for one year. In 1967, they moved to Wolf Point, Mont., where he worked for Montana-Dakota Utilities as a lineman. In 1969, they moved to Poplar, Mont., where he was the district representative for MDU. They raised their family in Poplar before leaving and moving to Culbertson, Mont., After watching his grandson’s grow up in Culbertson and Poplar, they decided to move to Billings where they watched their one and only granddaughter grow up. Jim was active with the American Legion, Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club. He served as mayor of Poplar and was directly involved in fundraising for community projects needed in Poplar. Jim coached both his sons in baseball starting with Little League all the way through to Legion baseball. He was in charge of the fireworks stand that raised money for the Babe Ruth Baseball program, plus may other fundraising projects for the baseball program. As an added bonus he also coached his grandsons Chad and Shaun in their baseball program. Jim also served as the State A Legion Baseball Commissioner for many years. Jim was proceeded in death by his parents, Leslie and Erma. He is survived by his wife, of 62 years, Patricia; daughter, Paula (Dallas) Dehner; sons, Larry and Steve Rowe; his grandchildren, Eugene Culbertson, James Rowe, Chad Dehner, Shaun Dehner and Faith Rowe; his sister, Jean Hekkel; brother, Jerry Rowe; and numerous nieces and nephews. His sense of humor and wonderful wit will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Culbertson, Mont. (Paid Obituary)

Stanley Marvin Sundheim, 77, died Dec. 7, 2021, in Billings. He was born on June 24, 1944, in Williston, N.D. He graduated from Froid High School in 1962. After graduation, he joined the Army National Guard and attended college at Northern Montana College (now known as MSU - Northern). While in Havre, he played drums in a band occasionally for gigs at the Vet’s club. He then moved to Billings and attended college at Eastern in Billings (now known as MSU - Billings). This is where he met Patricia Heller. They were married on July 5, 1969. They had two children, Tina Sundheim Walin (1975) and Tamra Sundheim Perkins (1980). They lived in Columbus, where he was employed with the State of Montana for the road department. Then, in 1973, they moved to the farm where he was able to have the job of his dreams as a farmer working with his father and brother until he retired in 2014. Even though he was technically retired, he never stopped being involved and knowing what the weather was doing and how the crops were. He loved to go fishing whether it was in the summer or winter. He was a supporter and fan of anything his daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren did. He was also a very big supporter of the Froid Cardinals and then of the Froid-Medicine Lake Redhawks when they combined for sports. He went to or watched online as many sporting events as he could. He was also proud to have been on the Froid boys’ basketball team that went to state in 1962 and loved telling the story of playing in that tournament in the civic center in Butte. He was involved in the Lutheran church, helping make the meatballs for the lutefisk dinner for several years. He loved going dancing with his wife and later teaching his girls how to two-step and most of all how to do his favorite dance of all “The Twist.” He was a big fan of western movies, but his favorite of was John Wayne. He enjoyed team roping, men’s bowling league, golfing and pinochle parties. He also enjoyed cooking, especially a big Sunday meal for the family after church. He loved his Olympia beer and was fortunate to be able to visit the Olympia brewery the summer of 1993. He loved playing board games and card games with his family. He is survived by his daughters, Tina Walinand Tamra Perkins; five grandchildren; sister, Judith Walter; and brother, Terry Sundheim. He was preceded in death by his parents, Marvin and Grace Sundheim; and his wife of 52 years, Pat Sundheim. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. at the Froid Lutheran Church in Froid. Burial of his ashes will be done at a later time with a private family ceremony.