Frances B (Flage) Smith

Frances Bonita Charlotte Flage Smith, 90, of Galata, passed away Thursday, August 30, 2013, at the Marias Care Center in Shelby.  The visitation will be at Whitted Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, September 4 ^th , from 1:00pm until 8:00pm.  Funeral services will be at 10:30 on Thursday, September 5 ^th , at the Galata Lutheran Church with burial to follow at the Galata Cemetary.  Lunch will be served following the burial. Memorials are suggested to the Galata Lutheran Church and Marias Care Center.  Whitted Funeral Chapel of Shelby is in charge of arrangements.

Frances was born to Helge and Bertha Flage on July 22, 1923. She, and older brother Grant, grew up in the hotel her parents owned in Galata.  She attended elementary and high school in Galata, graduating from high school there.  During school days, she would wait tables in her mother’s restaurant during her lunch hour, after school she would bring in the milk cows and then later, would help make pies and desserts for the next day. Frances was a very good cook and continued to use recipes she learned helping her mother, passing them on to her grandchildren when she taught them to bake and cook.  After graduation, she began working for the Great Northern Railroad and was a station agent up and down the High Line and in the mountains past the Isaak Walton station. She worked for the railroad until 1948.  She married Vernon M. Smith on June 16, 1946, and from this union three sons were born: Lawrence (Larry), Gerald (Jerry), and Bruce. She loved to cook and there were always pies, cookies, cake, or cinnamon rolls for company.  She enjoyed playing cards, reading, painting, watching soap operas, family and friends and raising her poodles.   Frances enjoyed animals, having a wide variety of pets throughout her lifetime, including her pet cockatiel, Pretty Bird, which she taught to talk. She loved the farm and grew a jungle of plants in her house and patio.  She was always busy but Sunday afternoons were reserved for card parties with families and friends.

Frances was preceded in death by her parents, Helge and Bertha; her brother, Grant and his wife, Alvina; husband, Vernon; son, Bruce, and great-granddaughter, Alicia.  She is survived by her sons, Larry (Lucile) Smith of Shelby, Jerry (Sue) Smith of Galata; grandchildren, Hank Smith of Seattle, WA;  Danna (James) Pelletier of Bozeman; Esther (Gary) Arnst of Valier; Bonnie (Tracy) Kinyon of Galata and Brenda (Brent) Schleske of Fergus Falls, MN; great-grandchildren,  Erin and Kevin Arnst, Casey and Zachary Kinyon, Noah and Logan Schleske.