Jennie Eichelberger Sederdahl, 85

Jennie Eichelberger Sederdahl, 85, quietly passed away Jan. 7, 2007, at Mountain View Manor in Eureka, where she has resided for the past five years.

Jennie was born Jan. 22, 1921, at Bald Rock near Kalispell to Henry L. (Lee) and Celia Eichelberger. Later the family lived in Kalispell except when they lived in logging camps at Swift Creek, Lupfer and Trego when her father worked for the Deseve family. She remembered quickly leaving camp during a fire at Lupfer around 1930 and the family having to live in a tent in the store parking lot in Kalispell until they found a house. Her father, brother and first husband later ran a small sawmill and cut lumber and wood for people during the late '30s.

At 15, Jennie married Howard Everhart in 1936. Their only child, Howard Lee, was stillborn in 1938. She later married Harold 'Curly' Moore in Fort Peck and had two sons, Harold and Henry. In 1946, she married Don Sederdahl and had a daughter, Donna.

Don and Jennie lived in Eureka until 1965, when Don was transferred to Havre. In 1970, they moved to Whitefish for a year, and then to Helena, where Don worked at Fort Harrison until his death in 1973.

While in Eureka, Jennie always found time to visit with many of the older residents who were homebound. She always had a large garden and did a lot of canning. She learned how to make rag rugs and made many for her friends.

In the spring, the first thing we had to do was find her favorite, the pussy willow, to make a nice arrangement.

After Don died, she suffered from a debilitating inner-ear problem that kept her from participating in many activities. Jennie loved music and dancing, but her illness prevented her from attending most social activities.

She enjoyed her grandchildren, growing flowers and spoiling her cat. She decorated the inside of her house for every holiday. Going to town for her cup of coffee or lunch was part of each day. A shopping day in Kalispell was always a favorite. She loved to buy colorful clothes and shoes to match. She went on several trips with her daughter, grandchildren, and sister-in-law, Alma, to California, Oregon, Yellowstone Park and eastern Montana.

Jennie was a charter member of the local Ladies VFW Auxiliary organized in 1953. She was unable to actively participate, but she supported their projects. She was proud to get her 50-year pin in 2003.

She was preceded in death by husband, Don; sons, baby Howard Lee Everhart, and Harold Moore; her parents; infant sister, Nellie; sister, Lewella Curtis; and brother, Roy Eichelberger.

She is survived by daughter, Donna Gentry, and Bob of Eureka; son, Henry Moore, and Cindy of Tucson, Ariz.; grandchildren, Vikki Anderson of Anaconda, James Anderson of Pasco, Wash., and Jerry Moore and Christina Moore of California; sister-in-law, Alma Edwards, of Kalispell; one niece and several nephews.

Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. March 3 at the Tobacco Valley Cemetery.

Memorials gifts can be made to Eureka Ambulance, P.O. Box 670, Eureka, MT 59917; or the charity of the donor's choice.