Nellie Ekholt Pritchett, 89

Nellie Ekholt Pritchett passed away on Feb. 9, 2011, at the Crest Nursing Home in Butte. 

She was born to immigrant parents on July 12, 1921, in a farmhouse on the Montana prairie in Dunkirk, just east of Shelby. Her father immigrated from Norway and her mother from Sweden. She and her five siblings spoke Norwegian and learned English when they started school. There were two other brothers who died in infancy.

She attended grade school in Devon until her father passed away, and then she moved with her mother to Shelby.

Her mom had to “farm” the children out to survive the difficult times. Mom went to Lakeside to live and did washing, ironing and cleaning in order to go to high school. She graduated from Flathead County High School in 1938.

She became a familiar person on the train from Whitefish to Shelby, and frequently got to ride in the engine of the Empire Builder with the engineer for those trips home to see the family.

In the summer of 1940, she met Fredrick Pritchett in Glacier National Park while picking huckleberries. They were married the following February.

They lived in Shelby, Chinook and Lewistown where Fred managed the Safeway stores. Then in 1949 they moved their family of now four children to Ross Fork, north of Lewistown, and began ranching. In 1957 they moved back to Lewistown where they became owners of the Montana Lockers and later started Snowy Mountain Meats.

In 1963, they retired do to medical conditions and lived for a short time in Arizona before moving to the Kalispell area, where they lived until 1995, when Fred passed away. Shortly after, Nellie moved to East Glacier to live with her daughter. 

Nellie was a hardworking farm wife and mother of four, and later became employed by the JCPenney Company in Lewistown. She and Fred volunteered for RSVP for several years after moving to Kalispell. She loved sewing, knitting and crocheting and cooking, and loved being with her family.

She is survived by her four children, Tom Pritchett of Helena, Joy Manning of Billings, and Faye and Gaye Pritchett of Butte. She has four grandchildren, Beth and Adam of Billings, Julia of St. Paul, Minn., and Bryan of Los Angeles. She has eight great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandbabies.

She was preceded in death by her seven siblings; her parents; and her beloved husband, and life partner, Fred.

Cremation has taken place and private family services will be conducted. A larger service will be conducted next summer in Glacier National Park. Memorials may be made to Highlands Hospice.