Catherine Butorac Rhodes
"Katie" - "Grandma" - "Aunt Kate"
45 days short of turning 100, Catherine peacefully passed away at her home at Highgate Senior Living where she had been a resident since 2005.
Katie was born on September 8, 1910, in Black Eagle (also known as "Little Chicago" but better known as Great Falls, Montana, today). She was the first born daughter of Croatian immigrants, Joseph Butorac and Wincie Balenovic.
Because her father was a coal miner, she grew up in various mining camps in Montana. The family settled in Roundup where she graduated from high school in 1929. After graduation, she moved to Billings where she worked in the kitchen at St. Vincent Hospital and then as a cook for Hopper's Greenhouse and Floral. It was here that she met her future husband, Gilbert Rhodes. They were married in 1931 and enjoyed 57 years of marriage until Gil's passing in 1988.
As a young couple during the Depression they worked hard and were finally able in 1941 to build their home at 744 Lake Elmo Drive. Shortly after moving into their home, they planted a truck garden and sold this produce to many local restaurants. Their can-do philosophy and frugal attitude allowed them to payoff their home loan in 3 years.
In the late fifties, they built Rhodes Mobile Home Court across the street from their home on Lake Elmo Drive. They maintained a well-kept and beautifully landscaped facility until their retirement in 1982 when they sold the business and land to their granddaughter, Cheryl. This land eventually became the site for ACE Storage Center, still operated by the Cormier family.
After Gil' s passing in 1987, Katie continued to live alone and to be active in the local Senior Citizens Centers where she loved to play pinochle. She was also a charter member of St. Bernard's Catholic Church.
Katie was preceded in death by her husband, Gilbert Rhodes, her parents and her brothers Nick and John and her sisters Mary and Anne.
Left to honor her memory are 2 step-sons and their families and grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
Cremation has taken place. Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 3, at St. Bernard’s Parish. A reception will follow mass. Rite of Committal will be held at Mountview Cemetery after the reception. Memorials may be made to RiverStone or Rocky Mountain Hospice, or the charity of one’s choice.
Go in peace with our love, Katie.
Remembrances
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What fun
memories we have of Sundays at Kate and Gil's! There were always treats
"hidden", but the kids always managed to find them...with a little help
from both Kate and Gil. Conversation centered around whatever we or the
kids were involved in, if we tried to talk about what they were doing it
always somehow got back to us. Kate had a wonderful sense of humor and a
spirit that nothing could daunt. We missed them when we had to move from
Billings and worried about her when Gil died two years later...but she
just kept going, living with joy and humor through it all. Rest in Peace
Aunt Kate... we'll think of you often, especially the stories you'd tell
about Nick and John!
Love,
Bob and Darby Butorac