Lois May Sudan, 91
Lois May Sudan passed away on Oct. 19, 2015, at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was the devoted and faithful wife of Leo Sudan who preceded her in death.
Born in Kalispell on Feb. 17, 1924, she was the daughter of Daniel and Mildred Sullivan. She attended Echo Elementary School, and graduated from Bigfork High School in 1941.
Upon graduation and at the onset of World War II, her high school sweetheart Leo joined the Marines and headed overseas. To assist her country in the war efforts, Lois moved to Bremerton, Washington, where she worked in a high security torpedo factory. Leo returned home from war and the two were married in 1943 in Seattle.
The couple returned to Montana in 1945 and settled in Bigfork. Lois worked as a mail carrier on the Swan route and as a beloved janitor at the Ferndale Elementary School, as well as helping her husband with the family logging business. In 1947, they welcomed their first child, a son named Billie, followed by daughters, Bonnie, Barb and Patti.
In 1976, Lois bought the Village Florist flower shop in Bigfork which she ran for nearly 33 years. She loved sports of all kinds and was a loyal fan of Bigfork High School sports, especially watching all of her 11 grandchildren, and many of her great-grandchildren. In the years since the flower shop, Grandma Lois or “Grams,” as she was affectionately called, enjoyed making quilts, tending to her plants and flowers, and making her world-famous pies and pastries.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Sudan; brothers, Eugene and Cecil Sullivan; and sister, Florence Paulson.
She is survived by her four children, son Bill and wife Rene, daughter Bonnie and husband Jack Triepke, daughter Barb and husband Clyde Potts, and daughter Patti and husband Vernon Smith, all of Bigfork; as well as 11 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind multiple, adored granddogs who visited frequently.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at the Little Brown Church in Bigfork. Burial will follow at Lone Pine Cemetery, with celebration of life services at the Bigfork Inn, with light lunch provided.
The family suggests memorials be given to the Lone Pine Cemetery in Bigfork.