Gwen Bolstad

Gwen Eileen (Knudsen) Bolstad, 60, of Homestead died Feb. 3, 2024.

She was born July 11, 1963, in Williston, N.D., to Wayne and Janice Knudsen of Bainville. Fiercely independent and determined, she was the third of four children. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age five but never let it define her. She attended Bainville Public Schools and was active in sports, band and choir. As a teen, she was crowned Miss Montana Angus Queen.

She attended Eastern Montana College in Billings, where she received her teaching degree and met her eventual husband Jon. They were married in June 1985 and moved to a farm and ranch east of Homestead, where they would raise their two children — Jenna, born in 1988, and Jackson, born in 1991.

A passionate, ruler-wielding educator to her many students, she taught in several schools before settling at Culbertson Public Schools. She taught physical education for a while before moving to junior high math and science.