02 December 2021

Share

Share

Share

Share

Arlyn Headdress Sr.

Arlyn Headdress Sr.


Arlyn Craig Headdress Sr., 70, of Wolf Point died Nov. 21, 2021. He was born on Nov. 28, 1950, at Poplar Hospital to Dale and Norma Headdress. He was the fourth-born sibling out of 13. As a child, he spent a lot of time with his grandparents, Henry and Sarah Headdress. He moved to Poplar in 1962 and in the eighth-grade He participated in the LDS Placement Program through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He then returned home after the school year where he finished his schooling in Poplar and ultimately White Swan High School on the Yakima Indian Reservation in 1969. After graduation, he moved back to Poplar. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, for a time where he would study criminology/ criminal justice. He then moved back to Poplar and he was hired as a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer. He pursued other employment opportunities and began his years of service with the Fort Peck Tribes, this includes a stint as a judge with the Fort Peck Tribal Courts. He then ran for the Tribal Executive Board on which he served four terms. During this time also was placed on the board of directors for West Electronics, a board he sat on for nearly 40 years until retiring in 2020 and he was also placed on the Fort Peck Community College board of directors, where he sat on for more then 30 years until retiring from that board in 2015. After four terms on the Tribal Executive Board, he then went back to work in law enforcement, this time as a tribal highway safety officer for the Fort Peck Tribes until being hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs again, this time as a rights protection specialist. In 1999, he decided he wanted to get back to serving his tribe directly rather than working for the federal government so he decided to run for the office of chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes and was elected. This was a source of great pride for him. He would go on to serve two consecutive terms. During this time, he had the privilege to serve on the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council. He will always be remembered for his kindness and willingness to help others. He had a great sense of humor and could light up a room with his presence. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. He loved taking rides out to the land and telling stories. The last couple years were hard for him but he had his grandchildren and great-granddaughter Esme to keep him going. He is survived by his children, Michael Headdress, Anthony Headdress, Christopher Headdress, Angelita Headdress, Craig Headdress and Arlyn Headdress Jr.; 12 grandchildren; one greatgrandchild; five brothers, Charlie Headdress, Henry Headdress, Leroy Headdress, Lonnie Headdress and Larry Headdress; and three sisters, Shannon Gonzalez, Ione Hanson and Doris Headdress Thompson. He was proceeded in death by his brothers, Mitchell Headdress, Dale Headdress and Sheldon Headdress; sister, Michelle Buck Elk; and great-grandchild, Chloe Headdress. His funeral was held Monday, Nov. 29, at the new Community Hall in Wolf Point. Interment followed at the Headdress family cemetery. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel was entrusted with the arrangements.

Share

Share

Floyd DeWitt

Floyd DeWitt


Noted sculptor Floyd Tennison DeWitt died at his Bozeman home on Nov. 14, 2021. It was a Sunday morning; Chopin was playing and people who loved him held his hands. He was 87. Floyd was born in Wolf Point, Mont., where his mother was a nurse, and his father was a full-time barber and farmed the nearby Missouri River bottomland. Floyd was crazy about horses and, as a small boy, would walk two miles every day just to sit on a fence rail and watch them. He loved riding them, training them, drawing them and sculpting their images. In Wolf Point, most people called him Tenny, an abbreviation of his middle name, and he was an untrained prodigy who modeled his early artwork after that of Charlie Russell, the only artist he knew anything about. His eyes opened a lot wider when the Army stationed him in Germany in 1955. While his young comrades pursued other interests, Floyd spent every available minute in museums, soaking himself in classical art, learning to see what the masters saw. After the Army (“I was the one nobody asked to re-enlist,” he once said.), he returned to Wolf Point, where he broke some horses and busted some drunks as a city cop. But his mind burned to create. He signed up in 1957 for a stint at the Minneapolis School of Art, where an academic focus on avant garde themes left him unsatisfied. He returned to Europe in 1961 when he won a sixyear scholarship to the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Amsterdam, Holland, which focused on intellectual rigor, the importance of metaphor, the ability to study nature and “remember what you saw and draw truths from it.” In 1966, he married Carmen Maria Johanna Kohinor van Vliet and made a home with her and her children Basja, Marischa and Serge. Though a full-time student, he also took a janitorial job to help support the family. Floyd and Carmen’s daughter, Donna, was born in 1969. After that marriage ended, Floyd moved in with Carla Marina Bussemaker. He was a night owl who retained his intellectual rigor until the end, studying Kant, Marcus Aurelius and Robert Frost while the television murmured in the background. He demanded excellence from himself and constantly challenged others to do better, be better. With his dark eyes twinkling, he asked people very difficult questions. An afternoon with him could be exhausting and exhilarating. In a 2015 profile in Montana Quarterly magazine, writer Alan Kesselheim said this: “Floyd DeWitt is not a man or artist you come to know, as much as a man and artist you experience. Like weather. As with a storm, DeWitt is unpredictable, powerful, fitful, intimidating, challenging and very real.” Floyd spent 25 years in Europe, where his art still resides in public squares, museums and many collections, including that of the Danish royal family. His list of public exhibitions spans 60 years and two continents. When he returned to the United States with Carla and Donna in 1984, he settled first in Livingston and then in Bozeman, where he designed his light-bathed studio, a place that could elicit gasps from visitors. That’s where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse thundered, made somehow weightless under Floyd’s hand; where Pegasus raged overhead, where beauty and metaphor melded and resided in wax and clay and bronze. He didn’t achieve wide commercial success, in part because he refused to compromise his ideals or cater to markets. But he sold enough to make a living and he won many awards, including top honors from the National Sculpture Society in New York City. He was a sculptor’s sculptor. And his own man. Floyd his survived by his wife of 48 years, Carla De-Witt of Bozeman; and his daughter, Donna DeWitt of Barcelona, Spain. A memorial will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service, Bozeman. Condolences & memories may be shared with the family at www.dahlcares.com. (Paid Obituary)

Share

Wolf Point’s Boys Open Season At Home On Friday, Dec. 3

Wolf Point’s Boys Open Season At Home On Friday, Dec. 3


Wolf Point’s boys’ basketball squad will tip-off its season with a home battle against conference rival Glasgow on Friday, Dec. 3. Wolf Point’s program features 23 boys this year. The district tournament will take place in Glasgow on Feb. 17-19. “I’m optimistic about the season,” coach Troy Blount said. “It’s a good group of boys, they work hard. It’s just exciting because

Share

Marlene Shumway

Marlene Shumway


Marlene Shumway passed away at her home on Nov. 27, 2021, with her family by her side at the age of 89. Marlene (Stephens) Shumway was born in Glendale, Calif., on Jan. 24, 1932. She was the only child of William and Eudora (Sandy) Mae Stephens. At the age of five, Marlene’s parents divorced and she moved to Fresno, Calif., to live with her Grandma Celesta Morris where she resided until 1946. In 1946, as a sophomore in high school, Marlene moved to Wolf Point, Mont., with her mom and stepfather, Bill Sands. She graduated from Wolf Point High School in 1949. Marlene married the love of her life, Herman Shumway. Together, they raised five children, Johnny, Steve, Dan, Bill and Sheila. Her family was the pride and joy of her life. Herman and Marlene lived on the family farm for a couple of years after being married. In 1951, they moved to San Diego, Calif., when Herman enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1951. Discharged in 1954, they returned to Wolf Point. Marlene worked for J.C. Penney’s and Citizens Bank for a total of 26 years. Marlene was resilient, raising five children, working six days a week at J.C. Penney’s and still she always had time for Herman and her family. In 1976, Herman and Marlene bought Dad’s Bar. Marlene was bookkeeper, bartender and janitor, a woman of many hats doing what was needed. They also bought a small horse ranch south of Wolf Point on Nickwall Road where they raised paint horses. Herman worked the colts and Marlene sold them for him on the internet. After 27 busy years, they sold Dad’s Bar and retired. Marlene was a kind and gentle person who loved spending time with family and friends. She was a true lover of books. She loved a mental challenge and was fiercely competitive at cards, games and puzzles. Together, Marlene and Herman shared a wonderful, adventurous and productive life together for 74 years. Marlene was diagnosed late in life with Parkinsons. This disease unfortunately took a toll over the years on Marlene’s quality of life and independence. Marlene is survived by husband, Herman; sons, Johnny, Steve and Bill, all of Wolf Point; daughter, Sheila Woods of Idaho Falls, Idaho; daughters-in-law, Rhonda and Linda; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by parents, William and Eudora (Sandy) Stephens; stepfather, Bill Sands; great-grandmother, Celesta Morris; son, Dany; and sonin- law, Joseph Woods. Cremation has taken place. Graveside services at later date for family and friends. (Paid Obituary)

Share

Roger White Sr.

Roger White Sr.


Roger D. White Sr., 66, died Nov. 20, 2021, at Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point. He was born in Poplar on Feb. 1, 1955, at the Fort Peck Agency to Faye White and Daniel Medicine Horse. He had multiple families growing up. He was first raised by his mother, Faye, until her death, then Grandma Nellie and Grandpa Herbert Bull Chief, along with Marvin Bull Chief, raised him. He then moved in with Harry and Midge Follet and finally with Sadie and Dean Blount. He grew up in Frazer and attended Frazer schools, graduating in 1974. He received many awards for his excellence in sports. He participated in cross country, track and basketball. He excelled in academics and athletics in high school. He held numerous records in basketball and, in one of his games, he scored 53 points (with no 3-point lines back then). He loved to hunt with all of his friends and enjoyed many backyard basketball games. After high school, he married his high school sweetheart, Judy Bauer. To this union, four children were born, Roger Jr., Amanda Faye, Jacob Allen and Kayla Rae. He loved to spend time with all his children and enjoyed the time spent with his grandchildren. He had his pick of colleges and universities after high school with full ride scholarships offered to him. Dillon was one of his first picks but he chose Northern Montana for a couple semesters. He was a cop for a spell and moved on to labor and carpentry throughout his life. He worked for the tribal HIP and housing program, tribal fencing, tribal ranch and the Flynn ranch. He fought fire during the big Yellowstone fire and was a crew boss for the Fort Peck Tribes Fire Department. Recently, he worked at Fort Peck Community College in maintenance. Throughout his life, he maintained work wherever he went. He lived all over the country. He lived and worked in White Center, Wash. He worked and lived in Fort Belknap, doing maintenance at Fort Belknap College. He loved to play men’s slow pitch softball and won many tournaments in this pastime. He also loved to play horse shoes as a pastime. He was passionate about hunting and fishing. He is survived by his son, Roger White; daughter Amanda White; son, Jacob White; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; adopted sons, Roberto and Fernando BearHill with his companion Denise Bear-Hill; sister, Tammy Dawn Olsen; brothers, Tyrus Follet, Rollie White, Chad Nelligan, Waylan Blount and Thomas Blount; sisters, Carol Wallette, Melanie Cole and Vicki Dahl. He was is preceded in death by his daughter, Kayla White; and brothers, Richard Blount and Russell White. His funeral was held Monday, Nov. 29, in the Frazer School gym. Interment followed at the Oswego Presbyterian Cemetery. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel was entrusted with the arrangements.

Share