Dolores Isabelle Dighans

Dolores Isabelle (Kwasnicki) Dighans, 74, passed away of breast cancer, on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, exactly 12 years after losing her mother, Helen (Edward) Kwasnicki.

As a tribute to her love of the outdoors and at her request, her ashes will be spread near her favorite hiking trail across the mountains south of Bozeman.

She was born Nov. 2, 1943, at her grandparent's home near Killdeer, Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised on a dairy farm east of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with older siblings, Jeanette and Delbert, and dear neighbor, Diane (Wortman) Griffin.

She married Peter Dighans of Peerless, Mont., on Sept. 29, 1962, and farmed west of Richland. Her four girls, Alisa, Melissa, Gwen and Gayleen, were the greatest joys of her life.

With her adventurous, athletic spirit, she competed in many school sports, and as an adult, cross-country skied across the prairie on the farm. Once moving to Bozeman, hiking became a hobby, and included a 5-mile trek in February 2017. Many will cherish the hikes they shared with her and miss the planned ones.

With creativity abounding, she loved all crafts and gardening, and even sold crafts off the walls of her home. Her painting, "The Cottage," has been made into prints for many in the family. We could always find her puttering around her yard, canning produce, and making the best apple pie in the world.

She worked for 23 years as full-time postmaster in Richland, before moving to Bozeman in 2013. There she loved her pinochle and water aerobics friends. Her beautiful smile and sunny outlook will be missed by many friends, old and new alike.

She is preceded in death by her parents and brother.

Survivors include husband Peter Dighans of Richland; one sister, Jeanette Maynard and her husband, Ken, of Lethbridge, Alberta; four daughters and 12 grandchildren, Alisa Vandersloot, her husband, Cal, and their daughter, Elena, of Billings; Melissa Van Dyken, her husband, Dan, and their children, Landon and Amanda, of Gresham, Ore .; Gwen Moore, her husband, Matt, and their children, Brandon and Austin, of Belgrade; and Gayleen Jones, her husband, Bill, and their children, Micah, Matthew, Moriah, Malachi, Manoah, Matteah and Mathias, of Bozeman.

Please send all memorials in her name to Big Sky Youth Empowerment, 225 Mendenhall St., Bozeman, MT 59715, Program Manager Katie 406-270-4375, byep.org.

Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service, http://www.dokkennelson.com.