Marian Stenger Rundquist, 77
Marian Stenger Rundquist, 77, passed away peacefully at her home in Eureka on May 6, 2014.
Marian was born May 26, 1936, in Great Falls to Ed and Helen Stenger. She was raised in Stanford and graduated from Stanford High School in 1954. Later, Marian attended Kinman Business College in Spokane.
Marian married Harold Smail in 1956, and gave birth to her first daughter, Jill, one year later. In 1958, she married John Boadle and they had two children, John “Bob” Boadle and H. Lynne Schweitzer. Marian and John ranched in Augusta until 1965, when Marian moved to Helena and began a short career working at Bell Telephone. She met and married Keith Rundquist shortly after her move to Helena. They relocated to Eureka with the construction of the Libby Dam, where Marian remained until her death.
Many people will remember Marian tending bar at The Stockman's Bar for many years after moving to Eureka. She concluded her career as bartender at the First and Last Chance Bar in 1982.
During what she called her retirement, Marian raised a few cows, cultivated hay fields, and was available to help her neighbors at all times. She was best known for her hard work and gruff exterior, though her family and friends were most important to her, and she often overlooked her own needs for those of her loved ones.
“Somewhere, Marian is sitting on a tractor with a handful of Saltine crackers and an old milk jug of water, watchful and patient, always ready to lend a helping hand.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Helen Stenger; and her son-in-law, Jay Yost.
Survivors include daughters, Jill Yost, and Lynne Schweitzer and husband Ed, all of Eureka; son, John “Bob” Boadle, of Wenatchee, Wash.; brother, Kenneth Stenger, of Great Falls; grandsons, Eli and Hayley Yost, Isaac and Thomas of Havre, Chad and Jeanna Steiner, Carston and Jackson of Rockland, Calif., and Cody and Elissa Steiner of Milton, Wash.; and granddaughter, Jonna, and Benjamin Schwarz, of Bloomington, Ind.
A memorial service for Marian will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, at the River Stone Lodge in Eureka.
Local arrangements are under the care of Schnackenberg & Nelson Funeral Home of Eureka.