Erma A. (Moesch) Gulick

Erma Andrea Gulick was 91 when her health unexpectedly deteriorated. She passed away on January 25, 2022 in Great Falls at Peace Hospice with family at her bedside. Erma was born to Fred and Alice Moesch in November 22,1930 in Flint, Michigan and was the youngest of seven children. Often times she would say, "What do you expect?l I was the baby of the familyl"

It was a New Year’s Eve party in Flint, Michigan, 1950, when a sailor/mechanic by the name of Rex Gulick asked Erma for a dance. Sparks flew and by the end of the evening Erma had snatched Rex’s wallet from him to ensure a visit the next day. The next day, the wallet was retrieved, and Rex returned to Montana and Erma started to work at International Harvester in Chicago, Illinois. They had correspondence through letter writing and it ended with a proposal and a train ticket to Montana. Erma was married to Rex in 1951 in Havre. They lived on the family farm 25 miles north of Joplin and 10 miles this side of the Canadian border. Their house was the old post office that was across from Willie Hodges place and moved to the homestead.

In the 1970"s they moved to Joplin to accommodate their 6 children in their school activities while still involved with farming. Erma loved gardening, canning, bread making, raising children and being a devoted wife to Rex. She and Rex moved to the Beehive Assisted Living in Choteau in 2011. Erma passed the time by putting together 1000-piece puzzles and playing the piano. She had quite a sense of humor and in her later years it was unleashed and set free. After cataract surgery, Erma repeatedly said, "I don't know where I'm going but I can see to get there."

After Rex passed in 2015, Erma moved to the Front Range Assisted Living in Fairfield to be closer to family. After being diagnosed with dementia her family spent more time with her and helped her unravel the thoughts that she couldn't quite grasp hold of. Going to see Erma was always a visit to look forward to where we could escape the seriousness of world events and family difficulties. We'll remember Erma waltzing to accordion music by Bob Antovich and the favorites played like On the Wings of a Dove, a song that Erma loved. She loved accordion music because she learned how to play the accordion after one lesson in Havre and took her prized possession to the Gulick homestead and played for her family. She also played bingo and especially loved winning! Erma loved flowers and the family made sure that two to three times a month she had a bouquet of fresh flowers. She absolutely loved it! "Those are the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen!" she would say. They loved it as well.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Rex; her parents, Fred and Alice Moesch; her sisters, Alice, Norma and Ruth; her brothers, Marvin, Fred and Bill; her son, Marvin Gulick of Fairfield; and her daughter, Carol Fullerton of Big Fork.

Erma is survived by four children, Dave (Sherrie) Gulick of Fairfield, Karen (Mike) Johnson of Fairfield, Lois (William) Meehan of Helena, and Steve Gulick of York; son-in-law, Nick Fullerton of Big Fork; and daughter-in-law, Donna Gulick of Fairfield. She was blessed with 17 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren. She always commented on what a wonderful family she had.

Linda Dolph was a longtime friend who Erma grew up with and kept in touch through all their years. Proverbs 17:17 says, “a true friend shows love at all times”. And they were true friends. Erma will be remembered for her kindness and how appreciative she was.

Special thanks to the Beehive in Choteau for her care for 5 years and the Front Range Assisted Living in Fairfield where she spent 6 years. Her son-in-law, Dr. William Meehan was a great asset to Erma. He accompanied her to many dental and doctor appointments to Great Falls and Butte. Those were not easy appointments since often Erma thought someone else had the appointment and she was along for the ride. Convincing her that it was her appointment was no easy task. While at the Front Range, Erma had five compressed vertebrae during just one year. We appreciated the expertise of Dr. Hassan Massouh performing successful kyphoplasty leaving the family with more time to spend with her. Also, thank you to Benefis Hospital in Great Falls for an exceptional repair on Erma’s broken femur on October 27, 2021. She did heal and regained walking on her scheduled date of January 5, 2022. Dr. Cameron was amazing! Thank you to Karen and Mike Johnson for taking in Erma as she convalesced from her broken femur and where she played her last piano piece just days ago. Peace Hospice was Erma's last stop. We thank you for your compassionate care. All in all, Erma's words were that of compliments and she was always very thankful. She often said that she wasn't deserving of such good care, which we always set her straight on that! Her humor was unmatched. She will be missed.

No services are planned at this time.