Doreen L. Harper Raddatz, 76

“My mom, Doreen L. Harper Raddatz, was a beautiful redhead with a personality and presence that people loved and were attracted to. She was born in Sunburst, Montana, to James and Ernestine Harper. The family moved to Whitehall and then to Lima, where small town living and access to ranch life helped her in discovering many God-given talents in which she shined, sharing them to the generations that followed.

My mom was quite athletic. She started riding horses at the age of 2 and in no time she was a talented horseman. She told me that she would ride her horse up and down the dirt roads as fast as she could go. She was fearless. When my mom was married to Alan Raddatz and had her dream home on 20 acres complete with a barn and riding arena, she loved to ride her little Arab horse Western style. After watching her ride I knew why she became the rodeo queen in high school! She was also a fast runner and won many ribbons in track and field.

While growing up my mom spent hours in the kitchen helping her mother cook, can, freeze and make homemade preserves. It was a lot of responsibility, but it gave her many valuable skills that she used later in life. When they were first married and living in Lakeview, my mom cooked for the hired men while raising three little girls. In the 1980s she went to North Pole and Seward, Alaska, with her husband Al. Both summers were spent cooking three meals a day for the crew who worked for Chris Berg Construction. Everyone loved my mom’s home-style cooking.

My mother often visited her grandmother who taught her how to sew, knit and do crafts. She was an excellent seamstress. When my sisters and I were going to school it was cheaper to make clothes then buy them, so my mom sewed all our stylish school clothes and knitted us the most beautiful sweaters. One year when my dad was off work because of a back surgery my mom knitted for us girls gorgeous Barbie doll clothes and made our Barbie doll furniture for Christmas gifts. She was resourceful.

While in high school my mom developed her talent in music and dance. She was an accomplished saxophone player in jazz band. My dad told me that everyone came just to hear Doreen play. Her fingers would glide over the piano keys when she played hymns for church or for enjoyment. Doreen and Al were the best dancers ever! They had a rhythm and style all their own and they blazed the dance floor with grace. Oh, how they could dance! From those years on my mom always had a little jig in her step and she loved to dance with her grandkids and great-grandkids.

Hard work brought accomplishments in her school studies. Doreen was an excellent student. She was valedictorian of her 1958 graduating class and earned a scholarship to the University of Montana. After graduating she went to work at the State Capital in Helena. She loved politics and speech and debate so this was a perfect job for her. Had she stayed on that path she probably would have been a congresswoman, but instead she married her high school sweetheart, Alan Raddatz, and moved to Lakeview where they started a family. When she was done raising us girls, my mom went back to school at the age of 45. She made the dean’s list and a 4.0 grade point average while graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the U of M! She went to work for H&R Block and people loved her. Business and taxes proved to be her thing and she was a successful tax preparer for more than 25 years.

In 1967, my dad took a job in Whitefish at the Big Mountain to be a ski instructor. My mom, Doreen, also went to work on the Big Mountain in the Ski Shop. With a sense of business, people skills and an eye for fashion, she thrived in the world of retail and became a top seller. She frequented many buying shows and always purchased what would sell. In the summers she worked at the Village Shop in downtown Whitefish. For the love of people, fashion and accessories, Doreen was on the top of it all.

Hard work and diligence got my parents their first home for $15,000. A good buy back in the mid-1970s. My mom’s green thumb made everything, from flowers to vegetables to fruit, flourish and be bountiful. The yard was beautiful! She taught my sisters and I how to keep up a home and do yard work. We lived there a few years then my parents sold it for $40,000. They purchased 20 acres of land and together built their dream home. It lasted a dream until a painful divorce took it all away from her.

All these skills helped my mom thrive when she had to be on her own. After her divorce Doreen purchased a little house in town and started a business of her own, The Out Post Gift Shop. It was a touristy shop where Montana-made gifts, jewelry and history books were sold. She loved meeting the vendors at the craft shows and farmers market. She prospered a few years, closed shop, and went to work at the Central School Museum. The love of Montana history and the Native American culture led her to purchase the most authentic gifts and books. Her business degree and years of retail experience helped the gift shop thrive. She was also the bookkeeper for the museum. The museum was her home away from home for 12-plus years until she retired and moved to Alaska.

The last couple of years of her life were spent in Soldotna, Alaska, with my sister, Jackie. Together they found peace and relaxation walking the ocean beaches, planting flowers and reading God’s word. On May 20, 2017, after a hard-fought battle with Alzheimer’s, my mom “went to dance on the streets of gold.”

Alzheimer’s stole many memories from her but it didn’t steal God and his word from her. He was the rock of her salvation and He stayed in her mind until the end of her days on earth.

‘I will not abandon you and I will not ever forsake you.’ Hebrews 13:5

I love you, mom. You were a blessing and you blessed many people in your lifetime. As was said in Proverbs 31:10-30, you were the virtuous woman.” — Your daughter, Sandy

Doreen is survived by brothers Gary, Pat and Jimmy; daughters Jackie Risch and husband Jeff, and Sandy McCracken and husband Tim; six grandchildren and 15 great-grandkids.

She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Joan, brother Butch, daughter Diane, and ex-husband Alan Raddatz.

On Aug. 12 at 1 p.m. Jackie and I will lay our mom, dad and sister Diane to rest in Fairview Cemetery, 1710 Fairview Cemetery Road, in Columbia Falls. A celebration will follow at my home. Email Sandy McCracken at sndrmccracken@yahoo.com if you have any questions and please RSVP if you are going to attend the celebration.