Maxine A. Lautaret, 89

Maxine A. Lautaret, 89, of Kalispell, "went to be with the Lord" Friday afternoon, Oct. 31, 2008. Maxine was born Jan. 7, 1919, the first of 10 children (nine surviving to adulthood) to Mack and Georgia (Davis) Greenwood on a farm near Hugoton, Kan. There were six girls and four boys in her family.

In 1937, Maxine completed requirements for high school graduation in Canon City, Colo., a month early so that she and Laurence Lautaret could be married on April 18, "Apple Blossom Sunday," in Florence, Colo. Thereafter, Maxine was Laurence's "Blossom."

Maxine and Laurence had four children, LaVonne, Carolyn, Larry and Rita, all of whom attended Evergreen Grade School.

In 1942, the family moved to Portland, where both Laurence and Maxine worked making Liberty ships during World War II, working swing shift where Maxine was a tool checker. They also built a small house each year while there and were able to leave Portland with a sufficient nest egg to purchase a ranch in Colorado, where they lived for a year.

In November 1946, the family moved to the Flathead Valley, and bought and lived in the oldest log cabin in the valley, at 315 East Cottonwood Drive on Spring Creek in Evergreen.

About this time Maxine rededicated her life to the Lord, and Laurence was converted through the fledgling Church of God congregation in the home of founding pastor Charles and Nadine Bolin. Maxine taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Pioneer Girls, sang in the choir, and was the Montana Women of the Church of God state president. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren "rise up and call her blessed."

Maxine was a homemaker and was office manager for Valley Sand and Gravel, which she and Laurence owned and operated in Kalispell until 1963, when they sold the business to McElroy & Wilken Ready Mix.

They then moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to serve as pastors of the Church of God there. (Under their leadership the church building was used as the Red Cross headquarters during the 1964 earthquake.) This was their first ministry and missions work; they subsequently were pastors in Anchorage and Palmer, Alaska, in addition to helping build and manage Camp Challenge. They also served as pastors in Eureka, Missoula and Bozeman, as well as Canon City.

In 1970, they bought and operated the Fernwell Apartments in Kalispell.

In the 1970s, they drove from Alaska to the southern tip of South America via the Pan American Highway in a pickup and camper, unheard of in those days. They visited most of the countries of Central and South America, visiting missionaries along the way and teaching Bible school classes in Peru at La Buena Tierra. Then from Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, they traveled north on the eastern highway as far as present roads allowed. They served as pastors of the church in San Gregorio, Uruguay.

Mission trips and projects included time in Mexico, Guatemala, the Philippines, Thailand, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and South Africa. Avid travelers, they visited Taipei, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Holland.

In 1987, Laurence and Maxine moved back to Kalispell to help their son Larry and Rena plant Whitefish Community Church of God, where Maxine was always the first to help with anything that needed to be done.

Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, Mack and Georgia Greenwood (who both died while Laurence and Maxine were in Uruguay;) her husband, L. E. Lautaret, in 2003; sisters, Ellen Marie Greenwood and Lorine Lautaret; brothers, Kenneth, Eldon and Myron Greenwood; brothers-in-law, Bob Nordyke, Eldon Lowry, Joe Cacciatore, Leonard Lautaret, Harold Lautaret and Carl Lautaret; sisters-in-law, Elma Lautaret and Wilma Smith; a great-grandson, Dustin Hollingsworth; a grandson-in-law, Brad Wainwright; and most of her peers.

She is survived by her sisters, Cleora Nordyke, Vera Lowry and Loretta Cacciatore; brother, Milton, and Kathy Greenwood; sisters-in-law, Joy Greenwood, Carole Greenwood and Sue Lautaret; daughter, LaVonne, and Ralph Ertz, and their three children, Tamie and Dan Hollingsworth, Ralph and Tami Ertz Jr., and Lonita Wainwright; daughter, Carolyn, and Clyde Tulowitzky, and their children, Lora and Roger Kerry, Lisa and Chris Swift, and Cherie and Mike Malatesta; son, Larry L., and Rena Lautaret of Whitefish, and their children, Lori and Jason Stoffer, Rachel and Cameron Clear; Luke and Heather Lautaret, and David Lautaret; daughter, Rita and John Stein, and their children, Heather and Jason Stein; 12 great-grandchildren; and dear friends and family around the world.

Prior to developing Alzheimer's, Maxine made it widely known by life and witness that she was ready to go and meet the Lord. It is true for her, as for the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

The schedule of events for Maxine's memorial on Thursday, Nov. 6, is as follows: from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., viewing will be at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home (752-0336); at 3 p.m. interment will be at Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery; at 4:30 p.m., there will be a dinner for all family and friends at Whitefish Community Church of God, 5685 U.S. 93 S., Whitefish; and at 6 p.m. there will be a celebration of life at Whitefish Community Church of God.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the "Maxine Lautaret Memorial Fund" at Whitefish Community Church of God for South American Missions, or to a charity of your choosing; or an act of service can be done in Maxine's memory.

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family. Condolences may be sent to www.buffahohillfh.com.