Bunny Personett, 85

Bunny Personett, 'spark plug' for the North Valley Troubadours, passed away Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006, at Brendan House in Kalispell.

She was born to Art and Ellen Cowan on Sept. 12, 1921, midst the aroma of MacIntosh apples and in the shadow of Trapper's Peak on the family ranch near Victor. It was here that she spent most of her childhood, attending Victor grade school and graduating from high school in 1939. Her memory of this place was vivid to her until her last days.

She went on to Tacoma, Wash., after graduation to attend beauty school. There she met and married Ernie Goslee. From this union, three children were born, Patricia, David (deceased), and Jim. They later divorced, around 1945.

She returned to the Victor area and married Roland Personett. They had four children, Robert, Rusty, Peggy and Cathy. In 1950, they moved to Cobalt, Idaho, a mining town in the mountains and spent five years there before moving to Columbia Falls in 1955.

Bunny found work selling Avon and at the Montana Veterans Home, retiring from there in 1983. She always raised a big garden and instilled her work ethics in her children with a shared time pulling weeds or picking raspberries. Her fried chicken was the best in the West. She was a valued member of the VFW Auxiliary, Cooties, North Valley Seniors and spent many hours volunteering at local nursing homes.

Bunny was preceded in death by seven siblings, Tom Fifield, Elsie Buker, Rolie Fifield, Freddie Fifield, Nellie Miller, Peg Muhlman and Bo Fifield; sons, David Goslee (infant) and Robert Personett; and one great-granddaughter, Cassandra Rhine.

She is survived by her daughters, Pat Roberts of Columbia Falls, Peggy Colby of Kalispell, and Cathy Graham of Flagstaff, Ariz.; her sons, Jim and Betty Personett of Columbia Falls, and Rusty Personett of Flagstaff; a sister, Alice (Blinks) Gingrich of Victor; seven grandchildren, Tom, Trisha, Brian, Tammy, Adam, AJ and Karin; nine great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A reception service and luncheon for Bunny will be held at noon Friday, Jan. 5, at the Columbia Falls Senior Citizens Center with a private family inurnment in Woodlawn Cemetery and on the ranch near Victor in the spring of 2007.

Arrangements are with the Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls.