Elaine Marie (Manning) Blotkamp, 73

Elaine Manning Blotkamp, 73, passed away Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at St.Vincent's Hospital In Billings. She was born in Minneapolis on March 15, 1936, to Melvin and Rose Weaver Manning.

Elaine attended grade schools in Minneapolis, and Forest Park School and St. Matthew's grade school in Kalispell. She had a beautiful voice and sang on amateur talent radio while still a young teenager. In high school she was an avid skier and in her junior and senior years at Flathead was a cheerleader.

Following graduation, she attended nursing school at Carroll College where she met her future husband, Richard "Dick" Blotkamp. Elaine was a dedicated mother and raised four children. She and her husband Dick worked together for years, she as a secretary and Dick as a broker for their All State Insurance Company in Billings. Elaine was also a sales associate for the European Health Spa in Billings.

Elaine was preceded in death by her parents, Rose and Melvin Manning; her husband, Richard Blotkamp; and daughter, Geralyn Deibele.

She is survived by her daughter, Rose Thomas, of Billings; sons, Richard Blotkamp of Billings, and Mark Blotkamp of Missoula; brothers, Ken and Don Manning of Kalispell, and Virgil Manning of Spokane; and sisters, Marlene Garrison of Missoula, Maryann Manning and Jeannie Nelson of Kalispell, and Kathy Nockleby of Roseville, Minn.

Elaine's funeral was held June 29 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, with burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Billings. A memorial for Elaine will be held at 1 p.m. Aug. 2, at the home of Don and Jeannie Nelson at 2221 Montana 35. Friends and family are invited.