Betty Friske Brown, 93

Betty Friske Brown, 93, passed away peacefully on June 9, 2018, at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish, with family by her side.

Betty was born on Sept. 11, 1924, in Kila on her parents’ farm. She was the oldest of four children of Fred and Hattie Knutson.

Betty married James F. Friske in February 1947. James passed away in April of 1974.

Together they had three children, James, Terry and Carolann.

Betty married Ransom Brown on Jan. 21, 1977, in Columbia Falls and moved to Heyburn, Idaho, where Ransom managed a credit bureau. Ransom passed away in August 2016.

Betty held several secretarial and bookkeeping jobs: Bank of Columbia Falls, Plum Creek Lumber, School District 6, and also helped Ransom with his business.

Betty loved flowers up to the very end. She had a large flower garden and would plant flowers wherever there was open space. She also loved canning fruit and vegetables in the fall from their orchard and large garden. There were always shelves full of canned fruits and vegetables.

Betty and Ransom loved to travel to Arizona in the winter, and to Alaska in the summer and many places in between.

Betty is survived by her sister, Norma Brumbaugh; her sons, James Friske (Karen) and Terry Friske (Sylvia); and daughter, Carolann Racine (Clyde); her stepchildren, Pam Jensen (Larry) and Patty Dodge (Dee); four grandchildren, nine stepgrandchildren, and 40-plus great-great-grandchildren.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers Pat and Buster Knutson, and husbands James and Ransom.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. June 20 at Columbia Mortuary with burial at Glacier Memorial Gardens. Columbia Mortuary is caring for the family.