Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913

Loretta M. Sand

Loretta Mae (Nieskens) Beebe Sand, 88, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.

She was born on May 15, 1927, at her grandparents' farm in Buffalo, Minn. Her father sent her mother and older brother to Minnesota to make sure she was with family for the birth, as he was working on Jim Hill's railroad that spring. Except for a short time in Great Falls, she lived in either Daniels or Valley County from the time she was brought home to the homestead on the South Fork of the Poplar River until she moved to Bozeman in June of 2010.

She attended schools in Daniels County, where she graduated from Peerless High School in 1945. She then attended beauty school in Great Falls, where she met her first husband, Willard H. Beebe, who was back from the war and working at East Base. The couple married and moved to Willard's hometown of Opheim. During the years in Opheim, they had two daughters, Sheila and Marcia, both born in Glasgow's Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital. The family moved to Glasgow in 1949, along with several other young couples from Opheim to work on the construction of St. Raphael's School.

After completion of the school, she and Willard managed the H. Earl Clack cabins and gas station on Highway 2 East, where they were living when their son, Larry, was born in 1952. The couple divorced in 1955. In 1957, Loretta married Milford "Sandy" Sand; they were married for 33 years until his death in 1990. They had one daughter, Denise.

Loretta worked hard all her life, whether on the family farm, at a grocery store during high school, at Clack's motel, as a waitress at the Montana Café, a dispatcher for the Glasgow Police Department and, later, as a retail clerk at Beede's MensWear. She was a generous and funny woman, a loving mother and a good friend. Her life revolved around her family, friends and St. Raphael's Church where, over many decades, she, LaVern Beede and other members of the Altar Society cooked dozens, if not hundreds of meals for community and parish events. She was a member of the parish for more than 61 years, an active member of the Altar Society and, in her later years, a eucharistic minister.

She lived in the same home on Fifth Avenue North in Glasgow for 46 years. Most all of the other houses had multiple owners during that time, but each new neighbor quickly became a friend. After she sold her home, she moved to Nemont Manor, where she enjoyed being with old friends from Glasgow and the North Country, playing bingo, whist, and participating in the many activities for residents. She especially appreciated the extra helpings of pickled herring and Bud Light that Sam sometimes provided with a wink.

She was preceded in death by her first daughter, Sheila Marie Beebe; a brother, Luverne Nieskens; her husband, Milford G. Sand; her father and mother-in-law, Gust and Marie Sand; a brother-in-law, Don Sand; a soul sister, LaVern Beede; and her faithful friend and whist partner, Bud Miller.

Survivors include three children, Marcia Beebe Rundle of Bozeman, Larry Beebe and his wife, Nancee, of Bozeman, Denise Sand of Missoula; five grandchildren, R. Michael Rundle of Sammamish, Wash., Jacque Rundle of Missoula, Heidi Rundle of Missoula, Mitch Rundle of Bellevue, Wash., and Jennifer Barrett and her husband, Brian, of Lander, Wyo .; six great-grandchildren, Morgan Shingle of San Francisco, Calif., R. James Rundle and Dawsyn Hastings of Missoula, Brooke Rundle of Ellensburg, Wash., and Miles and Ella Rundle of Bellevue; a sister-in-law, Louise Nieskens; two nephews, Chris Sand of Pflugerville, Texas, and Gary Nieskens of Scobey; and one niece, Jeanette Nieskens-Bokma of Sunnyvale, Calif .; plus great-nieces and nephews, dozens of cousins and friends.

Visitation will be held at Bell Mortuary in Glasgow, on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 1-5 p.m. A vigil service will follow visitation beginning at 7 p.m. at St. Raphael's Parish in Glasgow. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m. at St. Raphael's Parish with burial to follow at Highland Cemetery in Glasgow.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that any memorials be made to the Nemont Manor Foundation, PO Box 654, Glasgow, St. Raphael's Church, Glasgow, your local Hospice, or to your favorite charity.

 

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