Loretta Kern Heth, 60, of Billings, who was retired from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, died Sunday, Dec. 17, 2012, of brain cancer.

She was born Jan. 14, 1952, to Clara and Bud Kern in Billings. She was married and divorced and had a daughter, Lori.

She retired from BLM in February 2012. In March 2012, she was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Survivors include her mother, Clara Kern; a daughter, Lori; two grandchildren; a brother, Dan Kern; and sisters, Sandy Schneider and Linda Rekdal.

No services were planned. Arrangements were by Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Jeremy Lane “Pookey” Hall, 33, a pharmacy technician at Albertsons, died Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012.

He and his wife were active at Faith Evangelical Church. He  was working on a degree to become a paralegal.

Survivors include his wife, Amy; parents, Shirley and Delane Hall; and sisters, Melissa  Bjornsen and Heather Borwn.

Services were Dec. 22 at Faith Evangelical Church. Arrangements were by Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Emelda Katherine Dooks, 75, of Billings, who loved flower gardening and was a faithful letter writer, died Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, at Aspen Meadows.

The daughter of Norman F. and Katherine LaMotte, she was born Dec. 20, 1937, in South St. Paul, Minn. She married Karl T. Dooks in South St. Paul on Aug. 29, 1959.

While Mr. Dooks served in the Army, they were stationed throughout the United States and in Germany. After his discharge, they moved to Billings where she had been a member of St. Pius X Catholic Church since 1975.

She had received care from Dr. Ben Marchello at Frontier Cancer Center and the staffs at St. Vincent Healthcare and Aspen Meadows.

Survivors include her husband; a son, Patrick T. Dooks of Billings; brothers, Richard C. LaMotte of South St. Paul, Norman F. LaMotte Jr. of Fayetteville, Ark., Armand A. LaMotte of South St. Paul, LeRoy LaMotte of Pflugerville, Texas, and Francis T. LaMotte of Trout Creek; and two sisters, Dorothy Ann Yarussa of North Oaks, Minn., and Rita Reynolds of Glendive.

Continue reading: Emelda Katherine Dooks

Ada C. Bohl, 90, a longtime resident of Pompeys Pillar, died Tuesday evening, Dec. 18, 2012, at the home of her daughter, Darlene A. Bohl, with whom she had resided for the past 2 1/2 months.

She was born May 2, 1922, in Worden, the oldest of nine children of Stephen W. and Martha E. Ewen. She graduated from Huntley Project High School in 1941 and received a teaching certificate from Eastern Montana Normal School in Billings. She taught one year at a county school near Hysham.

She married George Bohl on June 10, 1944. They farmed near Pompeys Pillar and raised six children. Mrs. Bohl preserved vegetables for her family and made baked goods.

She was a seamstress who taught her skills to youths in the 4-H program, and she was asked to judge projects at many fairs. She also made decorative counted cross-stitch pictures and crocheted doilies and tablecloths.

She was a lifelong member of Bethlehem Congregational Church in Worden.

Continue reading: Ada C. Bohl

Stephen “Steve” Paul Foottit, 61, who opened The Aquarium and often played Santa Claus, died Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, from injuries sustained in an auto accident.

He was born Sept. 20, 1951, in Billings, the son of John and Hazel Foottit. He graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1970. In 1977 he married Marcene Louise Heitz, and they had three children.

He and his mother attended St. John’s Missouri-Synod Lutheran Church in Belfry.

Mr. Foottit worked for 13 years at the Conoco refinery. He opened The Aquarium in 1984, and he began playing Santa Claus for his nieces.

Survivors include his mother, Hazel Foottit; two sons, Paul Foottit and Mark Foottit; a daughter, Jolene Sarsfield; two grandsons; and brothers, John, Rick and Tom.

Continue reading: Stephen Paul Foottit

Lois Marquardt Mitchell, 86, of Billings, who raised 14 children and had been director of Timbercrest Girl Scout Camp, died at home on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. 

She was born to William J. and Cora King Marquardt in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Oct. 13, 1926. She spent her childhood in Idaho and Western Montana, including Hot Springs and Kalispell.

After graduating from Flathead County High School in Kalispell in 1944, she attended Montana State University in Bozeman and Eastern Montana College in Billings and worked at Billings Deaconess Hospital until 1946. 

She married James David Mitchell in Billings in 1946 and raised their 14 children from 1947 to 1987. She spent some of those years working at Deaconess Hospital as a nurse’s aide and for the Treasure Trails Girl Scout Council as field director and camp director of Timbercrest Girl Scout Camp, where she was known as “Buttercup.”

She was an active volunteer at the YMCA for 20 years and the American Red Cross for 25 years. She was a member of the Lois Club, YMCA Birthday Club, Friendship Force, Global Grannies and LOWS Camping Group. She was a patron of the arts and had visited 27 countries.

Continue reading: Lois Marquardt Mitchell

Cecil Ray Hughs, 85, of Billings, a retired pipefitter and welder, died Dec. 16, 2012.

He was born March 22, 1927, in Morgan, Texas, the son of James E. and Agnes (Cox) Hughs. He attended schools in Valley Mills, Texas. At age 15, he joined the Merchant Marines and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was honorably discharged on Aug. 15, 1945.

On Nov. 17, 1947, he married Caroline A. Kisel, in Lakin, Kan. He worked many years at Great Western Sugar and retired as a member of Billings Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, Local 30.

He had coached Little League baseball, served as a Cub Scout master and served as a PTA president in School District 2. In later years he worked with his wife as a volunteer at the Billings Southside Senior Citizens Center.

He had received care from Billings Health and Rehabilitation Community.

Continue reading: Cecil R. Hughs

Dennis M. Cox, 63, died Dec. 13, 2012, from physical challenges related to Down Syndrome.

The son of Redmond and Monette Cox, he was born Aug. 27, 1949. He had been at the Boulder River Training School, Norris Court, Stillwater Group Homes, Billings Training Industries and Eagle Cliff Manor.

Survivors include his mother and a brother, Christopher.

Arrangements are in the care of Dahl Funeral Chapel.

Simone Kelly Buckman, 48, who called herself a “tomboy” because she liked to get outdoors and get her hands dirty, died Dec. 14, 2012.

She was born on July 8, 1964, the daughter of Neil Daniel Beaudry and Claudette Serena Claymore.

Survivors include a son, Seth Neil Buckman; her mother; brothers, Arrow, Donovan, Wade and Albert; and a sister, Gail.

Visitation was Dec. 18 at Cremation & Funeral Gallery. No services were planned.

Daniel Raymond Feyhl, 60, who assisted with toy drives, died at his home the first week of December 2012.

Born to Donald and Gwila (Frost) Feyhl in Crow Agency on Dec. 19, 1951, he grew up in Billings attending Bitterroot Grade School, Lincoln Junior High School and Senior High School.

Mr. Feyhl had worked in the shoe department at Anthony’s, for the railroad, at Ryan’s Grocers and at South Side Pawn.

Survivors include his mother, of Billings, and a brother, Edward J. Feyhl.

Services will be held during the first half of January at Dahl Funeral Chapel. His cremated remains will be spread in the mountains.