Rita Mae Brown

On the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, Rita Mae Brown, 66, passed away at St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings, Mont., lovingly holding hands with her sons and encircled by other family members.

Vigil services will be recited Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at the Wolf Point Community Hall and funeral services will be held Thursday, Sept. 18, at 10 a.m., at the Wolf Point Community Hall with interment at the Chelsea Cemetery west of Poplar.

She was born in the community of Chelsea, Roosevelt County, Mont., on April 12, 1948. She was the youngest child of Hubert Brown Sr. and Bessie Comesky Brown.

Being the "baby" of the family with eight brothers and two sisters, you can only imagine the fun and complete protection she held during her younger years. Cousin Helen said she remembers all the times they had riding horseback, playing with their dolls, and making their own games within their "Chelsea Flats" playground.

She attended school in Poplar and Wolf Point, graduating from Poplar High School. She continued her schooling at Haskell in Lawrence, Kan., graduating as a dental assistant. Her education continued, getting her BA from NAES College. She also received several certifications from Lake Superior State College, Salish Kootenai College, National American Indian Housing Council, Fort Peck Tribes, Rocky Boy Health Board, National Center for Housing Management and Homebuyer Resident Counseling from Tucson, Ariz. She was a devout Christian and served as an Elder in the United Dakota Presbyterian Church.

She started her working years at a young age, working for the Fort Peck Tribes, Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Fort Peck Housing Authority.

She enjoyed watching TV and kept current with all new movies. She also enjoyed reading, visiting her family and grandchildren. She loved her grandchildren to the moon and back and enjoyed listening to their daily activities, which usually had her laughing.

She met her love, Vern Weston. They married and three sons were born to them: Brent Lee, Myron Taylor "BooBoo," and Brian Harry "Pumpkin."

She visited her favorite places: Mt. Rushmore, Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, Grand Canyon, Tijuana, San Francisco, Disneyworld, New York City, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Alaska and all places in between.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Bessie, Hubert and Mathew Eagle Boy; by all her siblings: eight brothers, Abraham, Hubert Jr., Morris, Delmar, Mervin, Gerald, Tom Sr., Leslie Sr., and two sisters, Ramona and Sara Weeks; and two adopted sons, Lyle Miller and Corwin Four Star.

Survivors include Vern Weston; two sons, Myron and his wife, Andrea, and Brian and his wife, Myra; two adopted sons, Kip Stiffarm and Anthony Archdale; three special nieces: Yvonne Flynn, Lois Weeks and Linda Reddoor; eight grandchildren: Dillon, Brian Jr., Brent, Zander, Mathew, Orlando, Tyler and Nick Desjarlais; other family too numerous to mention; and the families of Brown, Grey Bear, Eagle Boy, White Bear, Flaten, Begay, Swanson and Weeks.

Bell Mortuary of Glasgow is in charge of arrangements.