Mary Ellen Jystad, 78

Mary Ellen Jystad departed this life on Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at around 11:30 a.m. at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. She was 78 years old. 

She leaves a loving husband, Gary R. Jystad, M.D.; three children, Bob, Sharon and Glenn; and seven grandchildren. She also leaves a brother, David Erickson; and a sister, Carolyn Erickson.

Mary Ellen was born in Missoula in 1935. Her father was a civil engineer who built roads on several reservations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mary Ellen attended high school in Aberdeen, S.D., and college at the University of Montana in Missoula. She was a football homecoming queen in both high school and college, and captured Gary’s heart as student body vice president at the university.

Mary Ellen and Gary married in 1957 while Gary was in medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. They lived in Missoula, Whitefish and Great Falls, before relocating to California in 1970. The couple returned to Montana in 1994 to build a home in Shelter Bay on Flathead Lake.

In California, Mary Ellen was president of Assistant’s League. She was also a prolific and award-winning quilter in the Flathead Valley and a member of Women of Rollins, West Shore Quilt Guild and Flathead Quilt Guild, as well as a member of Community Presbyterian Church in Dayton. Her family will cherish the legacy of color and texture that she leaves with them.

A visitation will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. today, Sept. 5, at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home. A service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, at Dayton Community Presbyterian Church, Dayton. Interment will follow at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Mary Ellen’s family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to view Mary Ellen’s guest book, offer condolences and share memories.