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Frances Mae Evans, 97

Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 10 years, 10 months AGO
| June 2, 2014 10:00 PM

Frances Mae Evans, 97, of Missoula, formerly of Kalispell, passed away on Sunday, May 25, 2014, at her home, The Springs at Missoula, surrounded by her family and friends. 

She was born Aug. 7, 1916, in East Glacier to Frank Busch and Mabel Brierley Busch and was delivered at their ranch by midwife Mary Hide.  She joined her sisters, Dorothy and Eleanor and was followed by Gertrude, Charles and Barbara. Her father was employed by the Great Northern Railway and the family lived on a ranch near East Glacier where the siblings fished, gathered fruits, tended gardens, cared for many pets and rode horseback. 

The family moved to Kalispell when Frances was to start school and resided on the northeast side where she attended Edgerton Grade School and later Flathead County High School. Her mother, Mabel, cooked at the Mayflower Cafe in Kalispell for many years after Frank's death in 1942. Frances remained in the Flathead Valley her entire life.  

She married Harlan W. Evans at the age of 21. She and Harlan were avid ice skaters and tennis players, and Frances dabbled in watercolors and loved golf. She worked out of the home during World War II years at JCPenney’s in Kalispell. 

The family moved to Whitefish in 1961 where Harlan was president of the First National Bank until his death in 1970. Frances then worked at the Candlewick Gift Shop in Whitefish for 20 years, until she retired at age 75 and returned to Kalispell to live. 

Frances was a member of the First United Methodist Church and a member of Beta Sigma Phi for many years. She always enjoyed her bridge clubs in Kalispell and in Whitefish.  

She loved the Flathead Valley and all the outdoor activities it offered, including fishing, huckleberrying in the North Fork, and vegetable and flower gardens. Summers were spent on Bitterroot Lake at her beloved cabin and she could be seen trolling in the early hours while Rick and Bev slept in. The family avidly fished the Fisher River, North Fork River, Swan River and Thompson River, as well as trolling Bitterroot Lake. 

Frances was a fantastic cook and maintained healthy eating habits for her family her entire life. She waited with great anticipation every April for the ice to leave the lake and off we would go for the summer. She was able to be at her beloved cabin every summer with her loving family, neighbors and friends through last summer of 2013. 

Frances was preceded in death by her husband Harlan in February 1970; three sisters, Dorothy Casteel, Eleanor Reetz and Gertrude  Whittig; one brother, Charles Busch; and grandson, Michael Evans, in 1988.  

Frances is now survived by her son, Rick W., and Sally Evans, of Missoula; her daughter, Beverly Gordon, and Terry, of Bend, Ore.; one sister, Barbara Busch, of Kalispell; grandchildren, Cheryl and Mark Burnham of Salem, Ore., Jacquie and Tim Finholm of Denver, Tiffany and Randy Lewis of Billings, Jodi Anderson of Seattle, Rick Jr., and Kelli of Houston, Ryan Evans of Polson, and Ashley Warden of Missoula; 13 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.   

The family would like to thank all of the staff at The Springs at Missoula for their care, kindness, and love shown toward Frances these past two and a half years.  

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, at Garden City Funeral Home and Crematory in Missoula. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 6, in Kalispell at Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery with the Rev. Dan Dixson officiating.

 

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