Alice E. Beutel Price, 100

Alice E. Beutel Price, 100, died Dec. 19, 2005. She was the oldest native-born resident of the Tobacco Valley.

She was born Nov. 22, 1905, in Eureka. She had three siblings, a brother, Lorence Beutel; a sister, Ella J. McNaughten; and half-sister, Martha Mason. Her mother's second marriage to her stepfather, Mr. Voem, meant living in the logging camps, and her chores would be in the cookhouse. On occasion, she got treated to a ride on the engine taking logs from the camp to the sawmill.

In September 1924, she married Thomas E. Price, who had been a classmate. They had three children, Thomas H. Price, Claudia Higson, and Phyllis Nelson, all of Eureka. Her husband died in 1966. Summers were spent camping for a couple of weeks, or weekends, on the Price property along Glen Lake, which ran from the headgate to the old sawmill. Mr. Price would drive to work from there daily.

During her years in Eureka she was a member of the Episcopal Church, the Royal Neighbors and Eastern Star lodges, and served as an election judge for many years. She had flower beds, both at her Eureka home and Glen Lake, and enjoyed crocheting and playing pinochle. Piano music was a favorite, as well as the song 'Tennessee Waltz.'

She has special memories of two trips to Hawaii, visiting five different islands. She found the accommodations luxurious and the scenery beautiful, especially the flowers.

Her grandchildren are Leonard, Walter and Vicky Nelson, Tanya Wiens, Gail Mee, Florie Benner, Tom DeLong, T.H. and B J. Price and Willie Stevens of Riverside, Calif. There are 14 great-grandchildren.

Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23, at the Eureka Cemetery. Local arrangements are by the Nelson and Vial Funeral Home in Libby.