Obituaries
Obituary listings for 2010
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Agnes Jane (Harris) Scott
Agnes Jane (Harris) Scott was born August 4, 1913 on a farm near Berea, Nebraska, the 10th of 11 children born to Abigail (Kennedy)Harris farmers in and around Berea, and farmed on his own. Agnes lived with her family one place in a sod house. She said it was cool in summer and warm in winter as people said.
After finishing grade school in and around Berea, she went to Hemingford to go to high school. There she met LaVerne Scott. After she graduated she taught a country school for one year but didn’t enjoy it.
June 15, 1932 was their wedding day. That was the middle of the depression. LaVerne was a section foreman on the railroad and did a lot of relief foreman work for other section foremen. They lived in several places in SD and NE before Brownie got his own section. Later the couple lived in Provo, Marsland, and then Edgemont.
During this time Agnes was homemaker for a husband and two boys, Richard and Wayne. Mary came along 5 years later and Joan 4 years after Mary. With a full family they moved to Edgemont in 1947, where they remained the rest of their lives until moving to a nursing home.
Agnes, to help her kids go to a Christian boarding school, took on many jobs. She was cook at the sale barn, baked bread for customers, sewed, did child care in her home and other jobs. She was very involved in her church, the Hot Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church, holding several important positions there and also in Home Extension Club. Both of the Scotts were active in Senior Center. Her girls were especially lucky as she sewed almost all of their clothes. She also gardened and canned the produce she bought or the family raised.
As their children grew up and married, Agnes and Brownie traveled through the US and the Black Hills. Camping in several places, they enjoyed the scenery and local history. They reached 49 of the 50 states, missing only Hawaii, and also visited Mexico and Canada. There were 9 grandchildren and 13 great-grand children to go see.
They had been married 73 years when Brownie passed away in Castle Manor. Agnes followed him 4 years later on Dec. 16, 2009, at 96 years of age. Her helpful, kind life ended peacefully and now she waits her Lord’s return for her final reward.
A memorial service will be held at the Hot Springs Chapel of the Hills on February 28, at 1 o’clock with interment in Edgemont.
Phyllis Marie (Austin) Hanson
Phyllis Marie (Austin) Hanson 87 Funeral services for Phyllis M. Hanson, were held Saturday, February 20th at 1:00 p.m. at the Newcastle Senior Services. Burial followed at the Hanson Ranch South of Newcastle. The family asks that any memorial contributions be given towards Hanson Research Station.
Phyllis Marie went peacefully in her sleep to be with God and her sweetheart early in the morning on Valentine’s Day, surrounded by the love of her extended family, at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.
She was born to Mabel Pearl (Olson) Austin and Roscoe Charles Austin on September 24, 1922 in Gothenburg, NE. She grew up 25 miles South of Newcastle on Robber’s Roost Creek, where her parents homesteaded. She was the second of five children. In her youngest years, they hauled water to their house by team and wagon, but soon bought more land and moved closer to the spring. They were a true pioneer family, surviving the Great Depression and the Dustbowl, thriving on love and hard work, and their Swedish strength and tenacity.
Phyllis started school at Robber’s Roost School at age four, walking 1 ½ miles, or riding behind big sister Myra on the horse. When walking, she would often skirt way out around a big tree to avoid a large owl who would stare at her as she walked by. She later went to school at Morrissey Consolidated School, and attended her freshman year in Nebraska, staying at her Aunt Emma’s house. She graduated from Newcastle High School in 1939.
Also in 1939, on August 14, at the tender age of sixteen (almost seventeen!) she married her lifetime sweetheart, Glenn Eric Hanson, who grew up on a neighboring homestead on the Cheyenne River. This marriage would last both their lives. Their first home was a sheep wagon, which they shared while they herded sheep and “got acquainted.” They also lived in a small house on Salt Creek for a time, then settled on the Hanson Ranch on the Cheyenne River, where they built their ranch and cattle herd, raised their five children, grew great gardens, and created good memories for many people.
They moved from the ranch to Edgemont in 1960 so that their four daughters could attend high school while living at home. While living in Edgemont, they purchased and operated the Edgemont Livestock Sales Company together, Phyllis keeping all the accounts straight, and running the office on sale days. She made many friends here, treasuring them for the rest of her life. She also helped start the Senior Center there, when her parents lived there in their later years.
When their youngest child Roxie graduated from high school in 1971, they moved back to the ranch on the River, where they stayed, raising cattle, hay, and grandchildren, and helping set up Hanson Research Station, an ongoing dinosaur dig on their ranch. In 2000, they moved to Newcastle to be closer to doctors and the hospital. She loved their home in Newcastle, and their neighbors, who helped her in many ways.
Charlotte Andersen
Charlotte Josephine Andersen, age 81, of Edgemont, SD, passed away February 7, 2010, at the Weston County Manor Nursing Home in Newcastle, WY.
Charlotte was born August 19, 1928 in Newcastle, WY to Tobias and Elizabeth (Cullum) Kaiser. Charlotte spent her life in the Newcastle WY area where her family ranched. As a young teenager she moved with her family to Corvallis, OR where her father was an Interpreter for a German War Prisoner Camp. When they returned from Oregon her father purchased the Williams place on the Cheyenne River. Charlotte and her brother Dean lived in Newcastle so they could finish High School. After graduating in 1948 she worked several different jobs; one being a telephone operator. In the fall of 1952 she moved to the Ranch with her parents.
On July 26, 1954 she married Richard L. Andersen in Edgemont, SD. They made their home on the Andersen Homestead in Burdock, SD; ranching until retirement in 1994. Charlotte was a ranch wife and homemaker for her husband and 4 sons. She helped work the ranch where ever she was needed. She would do the lambing and take care of the chickens. Charlotte liked gardening, canning, reading and puzzle books.
Charlotte was baptized in 1968 in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church where she became active as a Sunday school teacher and the women’s group. Charlotte also served on the election board and the Argentine township board.
Charlotte is survived by four sons, Donald (Lynda) Andersen of Edgemont; Michael Andersen of Rapid City, SD; Robert (Pamela) Andersen of Phoenix, AZ; Christian Andersen of Edgemont; one brother, Roy (Helen) Kaiser of Newcastle; one sister-in-law, Myrna Kaiser of Newcastle; nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, one sister and three brothers.
Memorial Services were held Monday, February 15, 2010, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Edgemont with Pastor Dwane Hunzeker officiating. Interment followed at the Edgemont Cemetery near Edgemont.
The family would like to recommend memorials in Charlotte’s name be made to Weston County Health Services and Mondell Heights in Newcastle, WY.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of McColley’s Chapel of the Hills in Edgemont. Written condolences may be made at www.mccolleyschapels.com.
Robert Augustine Morton, Sr.
Bob was born in Canton, Illinois April 7, 1918. He was preceded in death by his mother, Fern Warwick Morton, his father Henry A. Morton and a brother, Leslie.
He attended schools in Fairview, IL and Aledo Military Academy and graduated from Fairview High School. He also attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
Bob married Marilea Hadsall, of Rapatee, IL, October 9, 1938 in Canton, IL. During World War II he worked for Boeing Aircraft in Ft. Worth, Texas. They resided in the Knox County area in Illinois after the war until 1971 when they moved to Custer, SD.
They had three children; Robert A. (Marjorie), Marilea R. Bensen (Stan), Katherine J. Grubber (Dan). Four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. One great-great grandchild.
Mildred Alice Biltoft
Mildred Alice Biltoft, 92, formerly of Edgemont, SD, passed away February 3, 2010 at Custer Regional Senior Care Center in Custer, SD.
Mildred was born November 9, 1917 in Cherry County, Nebraska to Alfred and Lena (Hoffman) Rogers.
On July 5, 1938, she married Richard Louis Biltoft in Valentine, NE. She worked at the Black Hills Army Depot. She was a member of the Women’s Relief Society LDS Church of Hot Springs.
Mildred is survived by sisters-in-law, Edna; Hazel Rogers; and numerous nieces, nephews and care givers of Custer Regional Senior Care Center.
Funeral services were February, 6, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Hot Springs.
A memorial has been established in Mildred’s name to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. Written condolences can be made at www.mccolleyschapels.com.
David Ray Bryant
David Ray Bryant, 88, of Gillette died Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Sheridan VA Medical Center. Arrangements were with Kane Funeral Home. Born Sept. 2, 1921, in Rozet to Ray and Haddie (Weaver) Bryant, he graduated from Rozet High School in 1939 and married Sarah Brown Bryant on July 3, 1943, in Missouri. He worked on the family ranch before joining the Army in 1941. He served until 1946, when he was in a truck accident and lost his left knee joint. He was honorary discharged. Mr. Bryant bought a shoe-repair shop in Edgemont, SD where he worked for nearly 16 years.