Leona 'Mae' Garten

Leona "Mae" Garten, 78, the third oldest daughter of Charles and Bodil (Pedersen) Nagel, was a mother, grandmother, sister and friend. An amazing woman went home peacefully to be with her Lord on April 4, 2014, at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow after a short battle with cancer.

Services will be held on Saturday, April 12, at 11 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Glasgow with Pastor Scott Hedegaard officiating, followed by burial in the Highland Cemetery.

She was born on May 20, 1935, on the family farm near Circle, Mont. Growing up, she worked on the family farm while attending country school near home. She attended high school in Circle, graduating in 1953.

After her mother's death in 1954, she moved to Columbus, Ohio, with family. It was there she met Wilbur "Bill" Garten and they were married on May 13, 1958. Shortly after, they moved back to Montana. She started working in the banking business as a teller in Glendive and Missoula. She later divorced in 1970, moving to Glasgow where she went to work at First Security Bank. She retired in 1985 to help take care of her older sister. Following her sister's passing, she went back to work. She worked at the Glasgow Credit Union, Cottonwood Inn, and Northeast Communications, finally retiring for good in 2000.

She loved to read, crochet, play cards, go fishing at Fort Peck Lake, follow her beloved Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners, was an avid gardener and a great cook. She also loved music, playing and teaching her granddaughter to play the accordion. Her greatest joy was spending time with family.

She was preceded in death by two sisters, Louise Johnston and Barbara Young.

Survivors include two sons, Chuck Garten and his wife, Monica, of Glasgow, and Mike Garten and his wife, Tawnia, of Elysian, Minn .; four granddaughters, Amber Garten and Greg Thiele of Minot, N.D., Lacey Flaten and her husband, Brady, of Glasgow, Alexis Garten and Chelsea Garten; one grandson, Darius Garten, of Elysian; two great-granddaughters, Addison and Kennedy; two great-grandsons, Caleb and David; two sisters, Gladys Helgeson of Mount Vernon, Wash., and Laurie VanDewerker and her husband, Verle, of Hayden, Idaho; one brother, Ernie Nagel of Sidney; and numerous nieces and nephews.