1936
Marion
2011
Marion P Culleton
January 10, 1936 — June 10, 2011
Marion P. (Cowan) Culleton, 75, long-time Cut Bank resident and former mayor, died June 10, 2011 at Northern Rockies Medical Center after a long battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, June 14, at 11:00 a.m. at the Assembly of God Church in Cut Bank. Interment will be in the Cut Bank Cemetery with a reception to follow in the basement of the church. Whitted Funeral Chapel of Cut Bank will be in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.whittedfuneralchapel.com
Survivors include her daughters and son-in-law, Cheryl Crail, Doug Crail and Cindy Larson, all of Cut Bank; grandchildren Brian (Amy) Crail and children, Cade and Camden, of Missoula, Adam (Jenny) Crail of Cut Bank, Danny Larson of Butte, and Caitlin Larson, currently residing in Cut Bank; Mary Weathers of Flagler Beach, Florida, brother Ted Cowan of Missoula, sister Sandi Cowan of Tulsa Oklahoma, sisters and brothers-in-law Robert and Ruth Kuka of Valier, Janice Groshens of Litchfield, Minnesota, Glen and Nancy Culleton of Valier, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, George P and Edith Cowan, her husband, Jim, her brother, Jim, dear friend Bill Abernathy, and other extended family members very close to her heart.
Marion was born January 10, 1936 in Chinook, Montana to George P. and Edith Cowan. She attended schools in Chinook and lived and worked in Havre after her graduation. In 1956, she married Jim Culleton in a ceremony at her parents’ house in Chinook and they subsequently moved to Cut Bank to make their home. She held a variety of clerical jobs over the years including positions at Petrolane, New York Life, and the Welfare Department. In 1984, she fulfilled a long-held dream of having her own clothing business, and purchased the Mode O’Day clothing store from Marge Peoples, later changing the name to Fashion Crossroads. Several years later she added another store in Shelby. She loved meeting people and working with the public and considered many of her customers family by the time she retired from the businesses. She was active in the Chamber of Commerce and served in a variety of positions within that organization during the many years she was in business. She also served as a councilperson on the Cut Bank City Council. After leaving the retail world, she spent time caring for her father and later her husband, Jim, as he battled cancer. After his death in 2000, she went on to serve as mayor of Cut Bank. After her term as mayor ended, she found that retirement was just not for her so she became involved in working at the Senior Citizen’s Center in Cut Bank helping with greeting guests at lunch time and other events, helping to serve meals, and other duties as needed. She loved the crew at the Center and thoroughly enjoyed her job there.
Marion was a member of the Cut Bank Assembly of God Church for many years and was extremely active in the community of Cut Bank, helping out wherever and whenever she could. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her family and she could always be found at one sports event or another cheering on her grandkids as they shot baskets, ran the football, batted in runs, wrestled, played tennis, or ran track. She hated to miss anything! She was a role model for her entire family—setting an example of what honesty, hard work, and stick-to-it-iveness was all about. She touched many, many lives over the years and ended hers with the same grace, kindness, and love she gave during it.
Any memorials can be made in her name to either the Gift of Life Housing in Great Falls, or the Family Comfort Room at the Northern Rockies Medical Center in Cut Bank.
Survivors include her daughters and son-in-law, Cheryl Crail, Doug Crail and Cindy Larson, all of Cut Bank; grandchildren Brian (Amy) Crail and children, Cade and Camden, of Missoula, Adam (Jenny) Crail of Cut Bank, Danny Larson of Butte, and Caitlin Larson, currently residing in Cut Bank; Mary Weathers of Flagler Beach, Florida, brother Ted Cowan of Missoula, sister Sandi Cowan of Tulsa Oklahoma, sisters and brothers-in-law Robert and Ruth Kuka of Valier, Janice Groshens of Litchfield, Minnesota, Glen and Nancy Culleton of Valier, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, George P and Edith Cowan, her husband, Jim, her brother, Jim, dear friend Bill Abernathy, and other extended family members very close to her heart.
Marion was born January 10, 1936 in Chinook, Montana to George P. and Edith Cowan. She attended schools in Chinook and lived and worked in Havre after her graduation. In 1956, she married Jim Culleton in a ceremony at her parents’ house in Chinook and they subsequently moved to Cut Bank to make their home. She held a variety of clerical jobs over the years including positions at Petrolane, New York Life, and the Welfare Department. In 1984, she fulfilled a long-held dream of having her own clothing business, and purchased the Mode O’Day clothing store from Marge Peoples, later changing the name to Fashion Crossroads. Several years later she added another store in Shelby. She loved meeting people and working with the public and considered many of her customers family by the time she retired from the businesses. She was active in the Chamber of Commerce and served in a variety of positions within that organization during the many years she was in business. She also served as a councilperson on the Cut Bank City Council. After leaving the retail world, she spent time caring for her father and later her husband, Jim, as he battled cancer. After his death in 2000, she went on to serve as mayor of Cut Bank. After her term as mayor ended, she found that retirement was just not for her so she became involved in working at the Senior Citizen’s Center in Cut Bank helping with greeting guests at lunch time and other events, helping to serve meals, and other duties as needed. She loved the crew at the Center and thoroughly enjoyed her job there.
Marion was a member of the Cut Bank Assembly of God Church for many years and was extremely active in the community of Cut Bank, helping out wherever and whenever she could. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her family and she could always be found at one sports event or another cheering on her grandkids as they shot baskets, ran the football, batted in runs, wrestled, played tennis, or ran track. She hated to miss anything! She was a role model for her entire family—setting an example of what honesty, hard work, and stick-to-it-iveness was all about. She touched many, many lives over the years and ended hers with the same grace, kindness, and love she gave during it.
Any memorials can be made in her name to either the Gift of Life Housing in Great Falls, or the Family Comfort Room at the Northern Rockies Medical Center in Cut Bank.
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