Shirley V. Witt, 79

by Daily Inter Lake
| July 20, 2005 1:00 AM

Shirley V. Witt, 79, "went to be with the Lord" on July 17, 2005, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Shirley was born Sept. 13, 1925, in Eureka, to Columbus and Kate Clark. Shirley attended school in Eureka, and in 1942 she married Bob Davis. They had one child, Carol. Bob later was killed in a car accident in 1948.

Shirley married Rodney Witt on Sept. 11, 1949. They were part-owners of Tobacco River Lumber Company, where Shirley was the bookkeeper. They sold the mill in 1961 and moved to Whitefish, where they built the Mountain Holiday Motel. They later sold that and purchased the Greenwood Trailer Park and campground in 1972.

Shirley was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Whitefish.

During her retirement years, she would try to attend any activities that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were involved in. Shirley loved to try to take trips each year to see her grandchildren and families who lived away from the Whitefish area. Last year, she took her final trip and flew to Alaska to see grandchildren, and, while there, went on a train ride to Denali Park and also went whale watching in Homer, Alaska.

"We will miss her deeply, but we know that she is in Heaven with the Lord."

Shirley is survived by her daughter, Carol Cuffe, and son-in-law, Tom; five grandchildren, Glenda Carr and husband, Jim, of Whitefish, Dina Roberts and husband, Ryan, of Boise, Idaho, Dana Oliver and husband, Roger, of Aurora, Colo., Bob Cuffe and fiancee, Julie Hamilton, of Whitefish, Katie Mobley and husband, Mark, of Wasilla, Alaska; great-grandchildren, Lisa and Chris Jellsion; Becca and Sarah Roberts; Mandie, Josh and Jordan Oliver; Keaton and Hailey Helgeson; Conner, Payton and Hudson Mobley; her sister, Nancy Stallings, and husband, Barry; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins; also her best friend for many years, Loretta Fauske.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Austin Funeral Home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 23, at First Baptist Church in Whitefish, 6232 U.S. 93 South. After the service, there will be a luncheon, and after lunch at 2:15 p.m. graveside services will take place at the Tobacco Valley Cemetery in Eureka.