Katherine LaMae (Katie) Dwello

Katherine LaMae (Katie) Dwello, 95, passed away May 24, 2026, in Libby Montana. 

She was born Dec. 8, 1930, to Herbert Wilhelm and Sophia Meta (Gast) Hoefs in Fairmont, North Dakota. Katherine was baptized on Dec. 15, 1930, and was confirmed May 30, 1945. 

She attended all 12 years of school in Fairmont. She was active in pep club, played basketball for the Fairmont Pheasants, was in both the junior and senior class plays, and graduated with honors with the class of 1948. 

She worked as a waitress in her parents’ cafe where she met her future husband, Dwight Dwello. They were married June 4, 1950. Dwight accepted a teaching job in the fall of 1950 to Geraldine, Montana. Katie worked at the Geraldine co-op grocery as clerk and bookkeeper. They began their family there. Kelvin Gene was born in 1954, Kurtis Wayne was born in 1956 and Gary Ellis was born in 1960. In 1962, they moved their young family to Libby, Montana after Dwight accepted a teaching job at the Libby High School.

When the boys were growing up there was always something going on to keep her busy. There was Little League baseball, Cub scouts, Boy scouts, basketball, football, track, and band concerts. In Libby, Katie worked at the Skogmo clothing store for six years. She then was employed at Center Drug for 11 years. Before accepting a job at the St. John Lutheran preschool and kindergarten, she volunteered at the Plummer School to help students read better.

Katie was active in Sons of Norway, Libby Dam Good Sam’s, Faith Bible Church and the Libby Nordicfest. The highlight was being chosen Nordicfest royalty in 1993. For entertainment she belonged to several pinochle card groups and enjoyed doing many crafts: making jewelry, knitting, sewing, ceramics and oil painting. She loved going to the Middle Thompson Lake where they fished and the boys learned to swim and water ski. 

The “self-crafted” pontoon boat was enjoyed by many.

In 1994, she and her husband became snowbirds and traveled to Yuma, Arizona for 20 winters. She dearly loved it there with the warm weather, lots of sunshine and making so many new friends. She joined the Red Hat Society of Arizona and enjoyed pool exercises, dancing, shuffleboard, golfing and she portrayed Lena (her alter ego), doing comical skits at many social functions. 

She was MC for many goofy style shows both in Libby and in Yuma. She loved visiting with family and friends and the coffee pot was always on to welcome guests. The only stranger to her was someone she had not yet met. In Yuma she enjoyed her winter job of selling bus tickets for a local travel agency. She and Dwight attended many of the shows and musicals where the tour bus went. Her favorite place to go was the Lawrence Welk Theater in Escondido, California, where she personally met several of the Welk stars. 

In more recent years, when she became a widow in 2018 after 68 years of marriage, she joined two “widow ladies” lunch groups for food, fun and fellowship. She attended a ladies Bible study and kept busy with Sudoku, word puzzles, solitaire and other games.

Katie’s family was her pride and joy. She absolutely adored them all. She’s the proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren and great-grandmother of 13 great-grandchildren. One of her passions was making greeting cards. She never forgot any birthdays or anniversaries in the family or close friends. She loved receiving and sending emails to friends and family (often with viruses). 

She touched many lives with her caring and loving attitude. She had a passion for photography as can be told by her dozens of albums. Her last big project was making photo albums for her 10 grandchildren from pictures from their infancy to adulthood. 

Katie was preceded in death by her parents Herbert and Sophia Hoefs; husband Dwight Dwello; brother Kenneth Hoefs and his wife Betty; sister Shirley Hoefs; brother-in-law Orville Smith; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. 

Survivors include her sons Kelvin of Boise, Idaho, Kurtis (Becky) of New Meadow, Idaho and Gary (Susan) of Caldwell, Idaho; grandchildren Bethany (Stacy) Mello of Nampa, Idaho and their children Madelyn and Briarus; Zachary (Danielle) Dwello of Napa, Idaho and their children Jordan, Clayton, Rustin and Brooklyn; Katie (Danny) Brown of Casper, Wyoming and their children Killian, Maura, and Asha; Lauren (Jeff) Henke of Orange, California; Garret (Lana) Dwello of Livermore, California and daughter Ayla; Sean Dwello of Salt Lake City, Utah; Steven Dwello of Portland, Oregon; Stuart Dwello of Bremen Germany; James (Kami) Dwello and their children Owen and Hadley; Jonathan Dwello of Nampa, Idaho; sister Ardis Smith of Denver, Colorado and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 6, 2026, at the Faith Bible Church, 239 Education Way, Libby, Montana. Pastor David Donnerberg officiating, with burial at the City of Libby Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Faith Bible Church. There will be a visitation from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, June 5, 2026, at Schnackenberg and Riddle Funeral Home Chapel.

Memorials may be made to any charitable organization of the donor’s choice. Online condolences and memories may be shared by visiting www.schnackenbergfh.com. Arrangements are under the care of Schnackenberg and Riddle Funeral Home of Libby.