All Obituaries

Rev. Charles "Father Charlie" Gorman, 91 years of age, died on March 29, 2020, in Billings, after having served as a Catholic priest in eastern Montana for 66 years. Father Gorman was born on Feb. 16, 1929, to Martin Gorman and Mary Ann Kirwan Gorman, in Moate, Ballinakill, County Laois, Ireland, the youngest of 12 children. He was raised on a farm where he worked all the chores with his family, attended Mass every Sunday and prayed the Rosary every evening. He attended grade...

Mary Jane Keller   Mary Jane Keller passed away Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, at TenderNest Assisted Living in Billings. She was born on March 29, 1926, on the family homestead 8 miles southwest of Winnett, the sixth of eight children born to Arthur L. Barnes and Ethel A. Feaster. Jane attended grades one through four in Winnett and in 1936, the family moved to Billings where she attended Broadwater School, Lincoln Junior High and Billings Senior High. She was active in 4-H, Theta Rho...

After almost a century of an enriching life, our husband, father, grandfather and great friend passed away peacefully on Dec. 15, 2020, with his wife and soulmate of 52 years, Marilyn, and family at his side in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Charles Donald Floberg was born on Dec. 16, 1922, in Tacoma, Washington, to Charles and Mary (Peterson) Floberg, both immigrants from Sweden. The youngest of four children, including twin brothers, Don grew up in Tacoma and attended the University of...

Helen Marie Ries Strekall   In the early morning hours of Oct. 5, 2021, our dearly loved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother was paid a visit by God’s angels, who assisted her on her journey to join Him and her husband. Helen Marie Ries Strekall was born on Nov. 9, 1926, in Conrad. Her father was John Ries and her mother was Eva Stoltz Ries. Helen had three brothers: Alfred, Raymond and Joe Ries. Her three sisters were Leola Salansky, Esther...

Roger Bernhardt   On Sept. 7, 2021, Roger Bernhardt was called to heaven to serve the Lord, after a long battle with COPD. Roger was born on June 8, 1955, to Dolores and Eugene Bernhardt. Roger graduated West High School in 1973 and worked for Pierce Packing. During this time, Roger married high school sweetheart Kathleen Moloney in Billings on March 30, 1979. Roger worked with several different companies, like Coco-Cola and Dorothy Lynch. In 1993, Roger opened up Eagle Claim Service...

Dorothy Homewood (Dietz)   Dorothy Homewood (Dietz) was born on Nov. 24, 1929, to Eugene and Mary (Rowlett) Dietz in Neligh, Nebraska. She married Duane Homewood in Billings and had one son, Kevin. Dorothy and Duane divorced in 1966. Dorothy worked for Carpenter Paper Company for 39-1/2 years, many of those years as office manager and credit manager. Dorothy passed away on Oct. 4, 2021, at Billings Clinic Hospital. She is preceded in death by her parents; sisters Adeline, Alice and...

Betty Jane (Wittman) Harrison   Betty Jane (Wittman) Harrison, 92, passed away on Oct. 2, 2021, at Billings Clinic Hospital, surrounded by her family. She was born on Oct. 8, 1928, in Huntley, the oldest child of Samuel Wittman and Katie (Nafts) Wittman. Betty attended grade school in Huntley and high school in Billings. Betty graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1947. Following graduation, she worked as an operator for Mountain Bell Telephone Co. Betty met Frank J. Harrison...

Barbara Louise Heide Griffin   How do we capture the fullness and beauty of a life in a few inches of text? The following is our attempt.   Barbara Griffin — mother, wife, and friend of extraordinary love, grace, and inner and outer beauty — took her last breath on Sept. 29, 2021. She passed away peacefully in Billings, surrounded by family and music. The oldest of four children, Barb was born in Crosby, North Dakota, on March 20, 1936, to Eleanor (nee Jacobson)...

Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Heinert   Kathleen “Kathy” Heinert, 91, passed away on Sept. 28, 2021, at Fischer Cottage, where she resided for the last three and a half years. She was born on May 8, 1930, on her grandparents’ farm near St. Anthony, North Dakota, to Anton and Cecilia Bender. She was raised in Mandan, North Dakota, where she met her future husband, Mathias “Matt” Heinert. They were married on Oct. 13, 1951, in Ashbury Park, New Jersey,...

Michael James Mitzel was born on May 17, 1978, to parents Burt and Carol. He left this world on Sept. 25, 2021, at the Tongue River Reservoir. Mike’s life flame burned brightly with a great zest for life. He lived his life to the fullest with a smile that lit up the room. He possessed an immense curiosity to figure out how things worked, which led him to take apart and then reassemble the family’s first home computer when he was just 5 years old. Michael grew up building homes...