Susan Finnicum
Susan Finnicum, 67, of Culbertson died Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in her home in Culbertson.
She was the seventh child born to Montana and Bernie Finnicum, born Nov. 6, 1956. She grew up around a lot of family. She graduated from Culbertson High School in 1975. She played basketball in high school and passed her love of basketball on to her daughter, Jenna. She was a lifeguard at the Culbertson pool in the summers.
She attended college in Billings until she married Terry Anderson and then received her degree from Wyoming State University Laramie.
They lived in Albin, Wyo., where they had two daughters, Tana and Jenna. They eventually moved to Missouri and lived there for several years. They finally settled in Sheridan, Wyo., where they raised their girls, kept horses, dogs, cats and other animals. She worked for a credit union during this time. She had a great love for God, children and animals. She always had at least one dog, a cat and a couple of horses.
In 1997, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She had great faith in God and was a 27-year survivor of breast cancer. Her family rallied around her to get her through all the chemo, stem cell treatment and radiation.
Unfortunately, her marriage did not survive breast cancer and she eventually took a job with a ranch near Wyola where she did haying and feeding cattle. She met her second husband, David Soto, while working at the ranch. They moved to a small farm near the state line east of Bainville where she had her horses, cat, dog and a pot belly pig. She worked with her brother, Butch, at the furniture store in Williston until it closed in 2011.
While she had never been to Kalispell, she decided to move there when the store closed. She made her first trip to Kalispell and bought a place on top of a mountain for herself and her horses in Kila. She found a church she loved and made many friends. She worked at a hotel for a while, but found a job in home health care that she truly loved and at which she was very good. She retired when COVID hit.
The summer of 2022, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Mesothelioma. Her sister LaVonne and her husband, Scotty Scotson, spent several months with her while she did chemotherapy. She came home in November 2022 after a heart attack so her sisters could share her care. She started immunotherapy at the Sidney Cancer Center in January 2023. She lived in her Grandmother Annie’s little house with her dog, Mattie, and cat, Mewly. Her brother- in-law Steve was her personal chef and provided her with two meals a day. In September 2023, she decided she was done with any cancer treatment. Her sisters continued to give her care until her death.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Butch Finnicum.
She is survived by her daughters, Tana Bahruth and Jenna Anderson; one grandson; brothers, Paul Finnicum and Bill Finnicum; sisters, Diane Hampton, LaVonne Scotson, Nancy Hansen and Bonnie Hellweg.
Per her wishes, she had a graveside service at the Culbertson Hillside Cemetery on Dec. 23, 2023, and she was interred with her companions, Mattie and Mewly.
