Eva Haynes

Eva Roberta McGrew was born on July 15, 1934 to Donnie And Maxine (Gammon) McGrew.  She was frail as a young child but loved to follow her dad everywhere. As she turned into a teenager, majority of her day was spent riding her horse with friends around the small town of Dupuyer.

She attended school in Valier and graduated from Valier High School in 1952. Eva was employed by Mountain Bell until her marriage. In February of 1953, she married her high school sweetheart, Don Haynes, and they made their home on the farm where they would spend the next 50 years.

Every morning the couple would saddle their horses and work cows. It didn’t matter what the weather was, they were on their horses tending the cows.  They took great pride in their horses and cows.  Mom had a favorite milk cow which hated everyone but Eva.  They went many weekends dancing at the old elementary school with friends.  What amazing dancers they became. When time permitted, they attended Omaksees, enjoying the games and races on their horses. Eva and Don took many trips on pack horses hunting at Swift Dam.

In 1994, they bought property in Bear Creek and built their dream cabin. This was the beginning of many years of snowmobiling with family and friends, and a labor of love as cabins always are. It also started the tradition of “Christmas at the cabin” and the family has only missed a couple of those special Christmases since. The cabin was Eva’s safe-haven, passion, tranquil place and where her ashes will be scattered by her family.

Eva and Don moved off the farm and into a house in Cut Bank in 2010.

Eva was the hardest working woman her family ever knew. During harvest she would be driving truck from the field to the house, have laundry going, have supper in the oven, and hauled meals to the field to feed the crew. She would bring the mess home, wash it all, and drive the truck back to the field.

She had a huge vegetable garden she processed and used to punish her 3 kids if they fought by putting them to work weeding or picking strawberries, beans, and peas.  Eva loved her yard and flowerbeds. She had a big sweet tooth and you could bet she had cookies, cakes, or pies ready to serve.

Survivors include her husband of  67 years, Donald Haynes; daughter, Candy (Kurt) Johnson of Havre; son, Randy of the family farm in Valier; Staci (Robert) Mazurkiewicz of Cut Bank; grandchildren, Brandi Baker of Havre, Brady (Sam) Johnson of Columbia Falls, MacKenzie (Drake) Zubatch, Kacie (Charlie) Mack, Joey (Casey Tilleman), Cory (Miesha) Mazurkiewicz, Bryce (Jonnie) Mazurkiewicz all of Havre, Paige Mazurkiewicz of Anaconda, Lacie (Nicholas) Mitchell of Overland Park, KS; 14 great grandchildren with one due in September.

Memorial services were held Saturday, June 13, at Whitted Funeral Chapel.