Eileen Potter

Eileen Parkinson Potter (Billie) passed quietly away from age related causes on the morning of December 24, 2015.  She was a resident of the Glacier Care Center where she received excellent treatments in the last years of her life.

Billie was born on September 5, 1918 at the station agents home in Melstone, Montana.  She was the second youngest of a family that included four sisters and one brother.  Mom was the last surviving member of her generation in her family.

Mom met Dad (Clarke) when they both lived in the same boarding house in Cut Bank.  It was a whirlwind courtship (it was, after all, World War II) and they were married on April 11, 1943.  It was a long and fulfilling marriage that lasted until Dad's death on November 25, 1991.They especially enjoyed traveling around the country with their fifth wheel trailer; conducting Dad's consulting business, golfing, and following the horse races.  They built and managed the Hilltop Apartments and Mom helped keep the books when Dad was an oilfield consultant.

Mom grew up on a ranch on the Musselshell River in Petroleum County and she developed a great love for the land.  She truly believed that Montana was the best place in the nation and the Cut Bank and the country in which she grew up were the best places in the state.  Wherever we were in Montana she would take us on long rides to "smell the sagebrush and smell the pine," enjoy the scenery and learn the history of the area. She loved the big sky and everything else about our state.

Mom was a woman of talents. She wrote beautifully, drew wonderfully true to life portraits and was a talented seamstress.She made almost all of our clothing when we were growing up and sewed all of our wedding dresses.  Mom was a marvelous cook and consequently our dinner table was very popular.  No one was turned away at mealtime.  There was always room for "another bean in the pot."

Mom was also a woman of passions and she loved, not necessarily in this order:  God, family, Montana, books, history, vocabulary, art, classical music, heated discussions and standing up for righteous causes. Sometimes this embarrassed us but now it gives us great pride,  You could have no better friend nor more articulate foe.  She did not have to agree with you to like you and rarely held a grudge. She hated gossip and would not tolerate prejudice.  We learned from her to love words, to read voraciously, to practice forgiveness, to be a worthy friend and to keep God in our lives.

Everyone who knew Mom would definitely agree about two things: she loved a fiesty argument and she was often the quickest wit in the room.  We grew up with arguments about anything and everything and we grew up with laughter.  We learned to prove our points and to respond with a joke.Mom was always looking up facts to prove that she was correct.  She would pull out her magnifying glass and carefully read aloud the proof that she was right and we were wrong. Thus was born the family saying, "  the argument aint over 'til the blind lady reads."

Mom was a planner.  It was her decision to go into the nursing home in Cut Bank.  We were concerned because none of us lived here.  Mom said that didn't matter, as she would probably know all the staff and the residents, and she was comfortable with that.  She told us that she "wanted to die where she had so happily lived."  It was difficult for us to have her so far away, but we listened and her wish was granted.

Mom was predeceased by her beloved husband Clarke, her parents, four sisters, one brother, and our sister Claudia.  She is survived by her children Pharoby Ripa, Claire Henn, Dennis and Lester Potter:  11 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, 1 great, great grandchild and 8 nieces and nephews and numerous grand nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is being held on July 16th, 11:00 at the First Presbyterian Church in Cut Bank.  All are invited to join the family for a luncheon reception in the church following the graveside services.