Effie (Clark) Dockstader Holmes, 96
Effie (Clark) Dockstader Holmes, 96, died Thursday, June 14, 2007, surrounded by family at her daughter's home in Bigfork. She was born Aug. 4, 1910, in Red Cloud, Neb., to Don and Nellie (Barrett) Clark. In 1917, she moved with her family to Bigfork, where they reclaimed a homestead on the East Lake Shore.
Effie graduated from Bigfork Elementary School, Flathead County High School, and Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane, in 1934. It was so unusual for a Bigfork student (especially a girl) to go to college in the early '30s that the town hosted a going-away party for her in the I.O.O.F. Hall, which was located where the Bigfork Center for Performing Arts is now. Her first nursing position was at Thornton Hospital in Missoula.
On Aug. 13, 1936, she married James Dockstader in Sand Point, Idaho, and he preceded her in death on Nov. 20, 1988, after more than 52 years of marriage.
They lived in Somers when first married, and then moved during World War II to Hanford, Wash., where her husband worked for DuPont on the Atomic Project. At the end of the war, they returned to Bigfork, where Effie has lived ever since.
She quit nursing professionally when she was married in 1936, but continued using her nursing skills on a volunteer basis. She was 'the nurse' for many years in Bigfork before there was a Quick Response Unit or a doctor in the community. No one seeking help was ever turned away, nor was anyone ever sent a bill for treatment. In 1982, she was presented with a Distinguished Citizen's Award for her service to the community.
She was always an active member of the Catholic Church and Altar Society. In the 1940's and early 1950's, Effie and her family attended Mass in the summer in the Bigfork High School auditorium where a handmade portable cedar altar, constructed by Daryle 'Chub' Brown, was used. In 1953, Effie and the women in the Altar Society began working to raise $1,000 a year to start a building fund for St. Catherine's Church. The church was dedicated in September 1958.
She also served as Democratic Precinct Committeewoman in Bigfork for many years and was an active volunteer at Bigfork Public Schools, including serving as president of the Parent Teacher Association, when her children were there.
In 1980, she and a small group of women founded the Shining Mountains Doll Club. Collecting, making, and dressing dolls, as well as the deep friendships she made with club members, became an important part of her life. Last summer, the club made her an honorary lifetime member 'for outstanding service to the club as a founding member and contributor.'
In St. Catherine's Church in Bigfork on Aug. 4, 1995, her 85th birthday, she married Ernest Holmes, her high school sweetheart, whom she had not seen in 66 years. They had five years together filled with trips, a cruise, and season tickets to Griz football games. He preceded her in death on April 11, 2000.
She was also preceded in death by three brothers: Freddie, who died in childhood, Richard who was killed in World War II, and Verne; two sisters, Margaret and Wanda; and one grandchild, Matthew Hein.
She is survived by three children, J. Michael Dockstader and his wife, Wanda, Mary Sullivan and her husband, Paul, Maureen Hein and her husband, Raymond, all of Bigfork; eight grandchildren, James Dockstader, Nicole Dockstader, Mark Hein, Mary Amanda Guffin, Paul Sullivan Jr., Maureen Sullivan, Michael Dockstader and Levi Dockstader; and one great-grandchild, Zoe Guffin. She is also survived by her youngest brother, Don E. Clark of Bigfork; two stepchildren, Ernest Holmes III and his wife, Janice, of Dallas, and Sally Sutherlin and her husband, Jack, of Las Cruces, N.M.; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, at John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork with Monsignor Donald Shea celebrating and Deacon James Butts assisting. Her grandchildren will serve as her pallbearers. Burial will be at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.
Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for the family. You are invited to go to www.johnsonmortuary.com to offer condolences and sign Effie's guestbook.