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Doris Kathryn Maas

Doris Kathryn (Daley) Maas died Wednesday, July 14, 2013, one week before her 91st birthday. Her family was gathered around her to express their eternal gratitude for a lifetime of unconditional love and support.

A celebration of Doris’s life will be held at Glasgow’s First Lutheran Church on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery.

She was born on July 21, 1922, on the family homestead north of Nashua, to John and Rose (Brandt) Daley, of Norwegian and German heritage. Her early love of reading and ease with schoolwork resulted in her progressing quickly through school and graduating from Nashua High School at the age of 16. She had eight brothers and sisters: Leonard, Lester, Norman, Glen, Earl, Floyd, Violet and Florence.

She moved to Glasgow and was working at Allen’s Cafe when she met and married Galen “Mike” Maas. During World War II, they lived in the South while Mike served in the Army Air Force. She returned to Glasgow for the birth of their daughter, Karen, in 1945, where Mike joined her following the end of the war and his discharge.

Daughter Brenda was born in 1950. Mike and Doris began farming in 1953, and for decades she did double duty as farm partner/wife and career woman, all the while making her daughters feel that they came before everything else.

She had a 32-year career with Mountain Bell Telephone Company, where she supervised a crew of over 40 telephone operators. She loved her job, and under her leadership, the Glasgow office won statewide trophies year after year for their high productivity and low error rates. When the local office closed in 1981, she turned her talents and energies to community service.

She was the first woman to chair the board of trustees of Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital. She participated at the state and national level of hospital trustee associations, where she rose to leadership positions. At the same time, she revived and managed the FMDH gift shop for 20 years, during which time it provided meaningful volunteer opportunities for dozens of community members and became a significant source of funds to purchase medical equipment for the hospital.

She was instrumental in the development of home health care and hospice (later “Respice”) services in Valley County, and was annually celebrated as the longest living cancer survivor at the local Relay for Life rallies.

In addition to her dedication to charitable organizations, she spent a lifetime offering endless support to extended family and friends, especially when they were going through difficult times. The loss of her beloved daughter, Karen Hueth, in 1979, gave her a painful awareness of the impact of losing a child of any age, and she spent the rest of her life reaching out to families who experienced such a loss.

She and Mike moved to Highgate Manor in Billings in January of 2013, just a block away from grandson Justin and his family. At Highgate she continued to brighten people’s lives, where one of the staff lovingly described her as “our little ray of sunshine.” She was, indeed, small in size, but large in stature and impact, tirelessly supporting others with her servant’s heart, her compassion, her unflagging optimism and beautiful smile. She found a reason to celebrate every day, and it was her mission in life to bring joy and comfort to others. She loved to dance, and rarely sat out an old-time waltz whenever local musicians played.

She and Mike enjoyed traveling the United States, and had driven through all most every state in the nation. After retirement, Mike hoped to spend winters in warmer climates, but Doris had too much to do to be gone from home that long.

Survivors include her husband of 70 years; her daughter, Brenda Schye, of Fort Peck and Billings, and son-in-law Ted; grandsons, Brent Hueth and his wife, Paqui, of Madison, Wis., Bradley Hueth, also of Madison, and Justin Schye and his wife, Christina, of Billings; great-grandchildren whom she adored, Camila, Ben and Daniel Hueth, and Morgan, Shelby, Tobin and Kellan Schye; special friend/daughter, Pam Lee and her family of Glasgow; two siblings, Floyd Daley of Watford City, N.D., and Florence “Flossie” Cecil of Moses Lake, Wash .; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts would be welcome to the charity of one’s choice, or to one of Doris’s favorites: YES Kids, 3814 Parkhill Drive, Billings, MT 59102, which is an Eastern Montana Down syndrome support network.

Bell Mortuary is assisting with arrangements.

 

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