Anne Marie Standley, 91, a longtime resident of the Bitterroot Valley, passed peacefully Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at the home of her daughter, Donna, and son-in-law, Doug Dahlgren, in Clarkston, Wash.

Anne was born Oct. 29, 1916, in Dawson County, Ga., to Charles A. and Annie K. (Byers) Stephens. When she was 5 years old, her father came to Northwestern Montana in search of employment and a "better life." He soon sent for his family, Anne, her mother, and her three brothers to join him by train. Anne attended school in Ennis prior to moving to Missoula.

In Missoula, she met and married Bryan F. Standley. They lived in Butte from 1929 to 1935 where he worked in the mining industry. Together, they had three children, Bryan LeRoy, Rosie and Donna. In 1935, the family moved to Corvallis, where they bought a small farm. They remained there until 1950, when they sold the farm and relocated to Missoula.

There, Anne, her husband, and their son and his wife, Marlene, formed a partnership doing business as Standley Reforestation. Anne took care of the bookkeeping, as numbers were her specialty, and cooked for the logging camps.

In 1978, they bought a home in Hamilton, where the coffee pot was always on. There she enjoyed spending time with her family, which was her greatest pleasure. She enjoyed many things in life that were special to her: working in her yard, tending the raspberries, reading, playing a good game of pinochle and listening to her family sing and play the piano and organ. All of these activities brought her many smiles.

She is known as the matriarch "rock" in her family, always having words of encouragement for those in need. Most often the phrase was: "Chin up, tomorrow's a new day."

Anne enjoyed her friends in Christ and the First Christian Church in Hamilton. She always shared her sense of humor and maintained a positive attitude.

Anne was preceded in death by her husband, Bryan; her parents; two sisters, Stella and Ruby; three brothers, Charley, Elmer and Bill Stephens; a half sister, Esther; a daughter-in-law, Marlene; and son-in-law, Jack Young.

She is survived by her son, Bryan "Roy," of Kalispell; daughters, Rosie Young of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Donna and Doug Dahlgren of Clarkston; grandchildren, Debora LaRose of Kalispell, Scott and Theresa Standley of Redmond, Wash., Crystal Malek of Kalispell, Tracy Vandewall of Gig Harbor, Joe Young of Newport Beach, Calif., Todd and Karen Young of Palm Springs, Calif., Tim Young of San Diego, Kellie and Brett Mildenberger of Hamilton, Dane and Christina Dahlgren of Soldotna, Alaska, and Victoria and Kelly Harris of Elko, Nev.; sister-in-law, Flora Stephens, of Corvallis; 21 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, at the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton. A celebration of her life with a memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Daly-Leach Chapel, with burial afterward at Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton. There will be a reception after the committal services in the funeral home's community room.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, P.O. Box 2472, Spokane, WA 99210-2472.