Maribelle Violet Brist, 85

Maribelle Violet Brist, our beautiful red-haired mother and grandmother passed away on Jan. 26, 2006, from a major stroke.

She was born April 10, 1920, in Cumberland, Wis., and later moved to Kalispell. At age 11, she was placed in the Twin Bridges Orphanage, returning to Kalispell at age 16, where she later graduated from Flathead County High School.

Soon after graduating she met and married Ellis Wicklund and moved to Salt Lake City, where she gave birth to two daughters, Phyllis and Jeannette.

In 1944, the family moved to Eugene, Ore., where Harvey was soon born. The family lived in Metaline Falls, Wash., from 1945 until 1948, leaving just six months after her third daughter, Ellen, was born.

One snowy day in December, Maribelle and Ellis packed up their four children and left for Kalispell where a job awaited Ellis at the nearby Hungry Horse Dam, which was under construction.

Maribelle brought her second son, Roger, into the world in 1949.

Aug. 16, 1950, was a sad day for the Wicklund Family when Ellis suffered a fatal fall on the job and Maribelle became a widow with five young children ranging from 11 months to 10 years old. She worked hard supporting her family on her own, always putting her children first.

In 1955, Maribelle and Tom Brist fell in love and were married shortly after. The couple made the family complete with a fourth daughter, Joan, in 1957.

Maribelle adored fishing with Tommy and she sometimes caught the most fish!

Maribelle especially enjoyed gardening. She provided her family with bountiful food from her garden - not only in the summer, but preserved beautifully in jars for the year around. Everyone she met throughout her life enjoyed her sense of humor and gentle spirit. Maribelle was truly a blessing.

Maribelle was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas E. Brist; son, Harvey Wicklund; daughter, Phyllis Wicklund; and grandson, Steven Hinrichsen.

Her son Roger Wicklund; daughters-in-law, Sharon Wicklund and Judy Wicklund; daughters, Jeannette Wicklund, Ellen Wicklund, Joan Morse and son-in-law, Dennis Morse; grandchildren, Greg, Michael, and Richard Hinrichsen, Lynda Rygmyr, William Goetter, Scott, Paul, and Mark Wicklund, Shelli Thomas, Jamie Rose, Michael Houchins and Holly Bude, Brandon, Austin, Dion, Dawson and Alex Morse; and 19 great-grandchildren survive her.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 30, at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. Burial will take place at 1 p.m. at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery, followed by a 2 p.m. memorial service at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 400 West California St. in Kalispell. Friends and family are invited to attend a reception and celebration of Maribelle's life at the Moose Lodge, 2158 U.S. 2 East in Kalispell, directly following the memorial service.

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.