A 26-year-old Whitefish woman who juggled motherhood and military life has been named Montana’s Mother of the Year.

Jessica How earned the title from American Mothers, a national organization that has been honoring mothers since it was founded in 1935 by Sara Delano Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, J.C. Penney and Norman Vincent Peale.

She will compete for the national title in June at a conference in Washington, D.C.

It’s the third consecutive year that a Flathead Valley mother has won the state Mother of the Year award.

How has two children: Parker, 8, a second-grader at Muldown Elementary School, and Aeva, 3. She manages Remedies Day Spa in Whitefish.

“I always put my children first and I work hard to support them,” she said.

Balancing work and motherhood is a daily challenge, she said, but these days it’s somewhat easier than when she was in the military.

After How earned her GED certificate, she enlisted in the National Guard’s 495th Combat Service Support Battalion headquartered in Kalispell. Later she transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps and was stationed at the Corps’ Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

“I loved the military so much,” she said. “I was the first person in my family to join the military. I wanted to push myself, so I went to boot camp a second time.”

How recalled that her family was surprised but supportive of her decision.

How’s son was just a couple of years old when she went away to boot camp for the Marines.

“That was the most difficult,” she recalled. “I was feeling almost selfish for being away. It was a real struggle for me.”

How had planned to make a career of military service, but when she fractured both hips and her pelvis during a training accident, she opted for civilian life after her four-year stint was up.

“I liked the structure and camaraderie of the military,” she said. “I liked the idea of being of service. I’m very patriotic.”

How’s daughter was born after she had wrapped up her military service. She decided to become a massage therapist and graduated from the Montana Institute of Massage in Kalispell. From there she went to work for Remedies Day Spa.

How puts a big emphasis on getting her children involved in outdoor activities such as mushroom and huckleberry picking and swimming in Whitefish Lake.

“Both of my children are very active, outdoorsy kids,” she said.

How spent several years living in Polebridge as a child and believes that experience shaped how she raises her own children.

“We lived right on the [North Fork of the] Flathead River and played in the glacial mud. I was getting ‘spa’ treatments way before” I joined Remedies Day Spa, she said with a laugh.

How said it’s important for her to provide structure and guidance for her children.

We work hard on daily life lessons, how to be respectful. I’m very big on that, and how we treat other people,” she said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.