Ellen “Ella” Urich, 103, a resident of Choteau, died Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008, at Teton Nursing Home in Choteau of natural causes.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Gorder Funeral Home in Choteau. Interment will be in the Choteau Cemetery under the direction of Gorder Funeral Home.

Ella was born Oct. 18, 1904, in New Lenox, Ill., the daughter of Nels and Mary Pearson. Ella moved to Montana, traveling by train with her parents and siblings. They lived and homesteaded north of Choteau in the Bynum area in 1925.

Ella attended Bynum High School, graduating from Teton County High School. She graduated from college in Dillon in 1925.

She married Ellis Urich in Choteau, in 1925. They moved to a farm southwest of Conrad. She taught school in Bynum, Savik-Larson School near Conrad and at many other country schools.

She and her husband retired from the farm and moved to Bigfork in 1947. Ellis died on Nov. 14, 1961. Ella moved to the Fairfield area following his death.

She returned to Ronan to be closer to her sister. During this time she purchased several prime lots located between Elmo and Big Arm on Flathead Lake. There she built her home. This home always had an open door for family and friends. For a single gal she had a home built with several bedrooms. She also had two huge family rooms with lots of large windows overlooking the lake. Straight out her front window in the rock formation was an image of Sacajawea and a baby in a papoose on her back. You could always tell where she lived as she loved to plant trees. Each one of her homes was surrounded by groves of trees. She would befriend the geese who used her property to raise their young every spring.

Ella was a very talented artist with a vision for detail. She started painting in her later years and was an avid painter of Western art and wildlife. She also had quite the hand for carving wildlife and horses. All her paintings were given to her family and friends. She never wanted to sell them.

She was also the master of creativity with her "Ella-grams." She mailed many of her cartoon-sketched envelopes to family and friends all over the country. They were always enjoyed by more than the recipients with comments made by many mail carriers.

Ella was always one to enjoy a good joke or prank. She loved entertaining people. She would keep her grandnephews and -nieces and great-grandnephews and -nieces (Gary, Alan and Connie Pearson, Dean, Drew and Matt Pearson and Debra Coverdell) for weeks on end at her house teaching them how to fish, playing cards or singing "Down on the farm" to them. She loved to hunt and fish, and to travel, and was always up for a good game of cards. No matter the game she was an enthusiastic, willing participant.

Ella was one who could put her mind to it and accomplish great things. As a young girl in Chicago she wanted a pony. She entered a contest to sell magazine subscriptions. The grand prize was a pony and buggy. She spent weeks during the contest looking for a location close to her home where she would be able to keep her pony. Long before she won the contest she had found a location and worked hard to get it cleaned and ready to bring her prize home. She won numerous other prizes and succeeded in winning the grand prize, her own pony and buggy.

Ella is survived by a brother, Elmer Pearson, of Fairfield; and several nieces and nephews and their families.

She was preceded in death by her brothers, Louis Pearson, Arthur Pearson and Roy Pearson; and sister, Clara Vigen.

Memorials can be made to the Teton Nursing or to the donor's choice.

You may view Ella's photos, obituary and leave condolences at www.mem.com