Carmen C. Stufft , 88
Carmen C. Stufft passed away Monday, Nov. 6, 2006, in Kalispell. She had just celebrated her 88th birthday in August. Carmen was born to Alfred Burl and Mary L. (Guffey) Cobb in Fullerton, Calif., on Aug. 22, 1918.
Shortly thereafter the Cobb family moved to Rawlins, Wyo. When she was in high school, they relocated to Cut Bank, where her father was involved in the oil and gas industry. Carmen was not at all enamored with Cut Bank and consequently during her sophomore year she made arrangements to return to Rawlins to live with friends and finish high school. Fortunately, her parents convinced her to stay in Cut Bank where, yes, she did indeed graduate from high school. An interesting note is that Carmen was the only one of her family to continue to reside in Cut Bank until 2003, when she moved to Kalispell to be close to her daughter, Carol.
Carmen attended the University of Colorado and continued her education at Stanford University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After Stanford, she attended Katherine Gibbs School of Business in Boston and then pursued a business career as a legal secretary in San Francisco. However, due to the events of World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor, her father insisted she return home to assist him in his offices in Great Falls and Cut Bank.
She married her high-school sweetheart, William F. Stufft, of Cut Bank on June 2, 1944, at the Church of Incarnation in Great Falls. Immediately after the ceremony, Bill had to report for duty in the U.S. Army, cutting their honeymoon very short. After the war, Carmen and Bill lived in Cut Bank where they raised three children, Carol, Dorene and David, and Bill managed the family wheat farm.
Carmen called herself a "gypsy" because of her wanderlust. As soon as the harvest was over and the grain was in the bin, the suitcases were packed and she and Bill were off exploring far-away places.
Carmen was very active in her community, where she served on the Glacier County Library Board, the County Planning Board and the Community Concert Board. She was president of the Cobb Foundation. She celebrated 68 years as an active member of P.E.O. including organizing and serving as president of her Chapter.
She attended First Presbyterian Church in Cut Bank and Christ Church Episcopal in Kalispell.
After Bill passed away, Carmen, with her sister-in-law, Esther Stufft, continued to oversee operations of Stufft Farms. Carmen always maintained that her career as a wife, mother, grandmother and homemaker was far more gratifying than any other vocation she could ever assume.
Carmen was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bill; and her brother, "Buddy" Cobb.
She is survived by her children, Carol Larson and husband, Kurt, of Kalispell, Dorene Baggett and husband, Stan, of Carbondale, Colo., and David F. Stufft, also of Kalispell; daughter-in-law, Mayla Stufft, of Fresno, Calif.; sister, Jean Brannon, of Morristown, Tenn.; she also was blessed with nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and Doug and Marla Embody of Cut Bank, whom Carmen regarded as part of her extended family.
A memorial service for Carmen C. Stufft will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20, at Christ Church Episcopal, 215 Third Ave. E., in Kalispell, with the Rev. William Baumgarten, celebrant.
The family suggests any memorials be sent to Cottey College, in c/o Virginia Ray, 406 Seventh Ave. S.E. Cut Bank, MT 59427; or Glacier County Historical Society, in c/o Dennis Seglem, 107 Old Kevin Hwy., Cut Bank, MT 59427; or The Great Falls Symphony Association, P.O. Box 1078, Great Falls, MT 59404; or Christ Church Episcopal, 215 Third Ave. E. and Second Street, Kalispell, MT 59901.
Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Carmen's family.