Mary D. 'Corky' (Calbick) Derby, 80

Mary D. “Corky” Derby died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, at The Springs in Whitefish of natural causes. She was 80 years old.

She was born in Kalispell to Bert and Laura Jane (Parker) Calbick on May 27, 1934. 

She attended Kalispell public schools and graduated in 1952 from Flathead County High School. It was also in 1952 when she met her future husband, Len Derby of Missoula, on Big Mountain. For the next several months, Len would call Corky to go on double-dates, invariably bringing along one of his Missoula buddies to be Corky’s date. 

Len was transferred to Georgia for advanced military training and he and Corky began writing letters to each other. Before being deployed overseas, he was given a one-month leave and he returned to Montana.  He promptly called Corky to actually ask her out on a date. Thinking he was offering her another double-date, she turned him down. Eventually she relented and they dated during that month and became sweethearts.  They communicated faithfully while he was stationed in Germany and upon his return, he proposed. They married on Dec. 18, 1953, and celebrated 61 years together a few weeks ago.

Corky enjoyed volunteering and, as she raised her four children, she held offices in the Montana Republican Women's Association and assisted with the Red Cross. She and Len were instrumental in launching Flathead Valley Community College and were among its first staff. She taught contract bridge as Community Education for five years for Flathead Valley Community College.

Corky was also an avid writer and published author, with articles appearing in Readers Digest, among other periodicals. She wrote community interest columns for both the Daily Inter Lake and the Missoulian newspapers. One of her columns featured early pioneers of the Flathead Valley which she dedicated to her grandmother, Mabel “Bubble” Parker, and titled, “To Bubble, With Love.” She spent countless hours interviewing and getting to know the subjects of her stories. Corky had a knack for quickly turning strangers into friends and had a true affection for the elderly.   

Another one of her segments featured local law enforcement. Much to the embarrassment of her teenaged children, Corky rode “patrol” each Saturday night with the Kalispell Police Department and published a weekly Sunday column she titled “Saturday Night Live.” This eventually launched her into what would become a 17-year career at the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, a job she started in her mid ‘40s. Corky trained at the Law Enforcement Academy in Bozeman, and worked in many roles at the sheriff's office, promoting to public information officer a few years into her career. Because most of the deputies were young enough to be her sons, she soon became the office “mom.” She was well liked and respected by them and she maintained lifelong friendships with several. 

In partnership with her duties in law enforcement, Corky became a tireless advocate for people with mental health issues in Flathead County and worked at both the state and local level to create support for laws gauged to protect this segment of the population. Resources were few in the late 1970s so people with these challenges were often placed in jail for lack of other facilities. Her efforts helped draw attention to needed treatment centers that would segregate people with mental health issues from the general jail population.

She was so passionate about this cause that in retirement, she created a nonprofit entity, and renovated a home into a four-unit apartment for women with mental health issues, called Corky’s House. It provided housing for dozens of women during the 10 years Corky operated it. In retirement she also celebrated the births of each of her grandchildren with fanfare. She could hardly wait to become a grandma and she enjoyed and loved them all deeply.

Corky had a kind heart and was known for bringing soup and pie to sick friends and grieving families. She could be counted on when people needed her most — something that friends have been conveying to our family for some time now. She cared for her grandmother, mother and uncle in their declining years and was a dedicated and loving daughter, granddaughter, niece, wife, mother and friend. 

Corky is survived by her husband, J. Leonard Derby, of Kalispell, four children and eight grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by her children, Lynn and Paul Ausbrooks of Colorado, Laurie and Brent Smith of Kalispell, Dean and Kathy Derby of Bozeman, and Julie Hunter of Kalispell.

She adored her grandchildren, Austin Peppenger, Kristen Smith, Bailey and Logan Derby, and Lauren, Bianca, Jackson and Sophie Hunter, and will be remembered by them as “the bestest grandma in all the land.”

She was preceded in death by her parents, and her sister Francis Duane Hawk.

Corky’s family would like to extend sincere thanks to Dr. David Habel, the staff at The Springs of Whitefish, Home Options Hospice and the many friends who ministered to her and her family these last few weeks.

Funeral services for Corky will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, at the First Presbyterian Church, 540 S. Main Street, Kalispell, with a lunch following.  

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Springs of Whitefish (Employee Holiday Fund), 1001 River Lakes Parkway, Whitefish, MT 59937.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Corky’s family.