Catherine Billie, 83
Lake County Leader | UPDATED 1 hour, 7 minutes AGO
December 1, 1945–May 15, 2026
Catherine Billie was born Dec. 1, 1945, in Wheeling, W. Va., to Marie Demma Dorian, and was raised by her adoptive parents: Willis Earl Bonar and Louise Kiger-Bonar-Behrens.
She graduated from West Liberty High School and attended and worked at West Liberty State College. After her divorce from her high school sweetheart, Bernard R. Pettit, she packed up and moved to Philadelphia, Miss., where she taught at the Pearl River school on the Choctaw Reservation.
There she met the man she would spend the rest of her life with – Robert W. Billie. They married and eventually moved up from Missoula to St. Ignatius. She worked at Two Eagle River School in Dixon, and taught for Salish Kootenai College at the Kicking Horse Job Corp, which is where she retired from.
She was one of three women to start the Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition and served on the Montana Human Rights Network Board. She loved being active in the United Methodist Church, especially the United Methodist Women's group and standing up for social justice issues.
She loved to play the piano, sing, watch her favorite shows, watch animals and birdwatch. She loved powwows and to be out and about, until she was physically unable to do so. Then she changed to posting information about social justice issues online, playing games like Wordle and challenging her friends to play, and keeping up with her former students and friends on Facebook. She loved to play games, bake cookies or brownies, especially for the holidays, cuddle with her cats and the color purple.
She leaves behind her loving husband, Robert Billie of St. Ignatius; daughter Tammy Miller of St. Ignatius; granddaughter Amanda Miller and great-grandchildren Azori Knott and Greyson Miller, all from Missoula; and numerous friends, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Catherine did not wish a public viewing and desired to be cremated. In lieu of flowers please donate to Mission Valley United Methodist Church or a social justice group of your choice (PFLAG, FRHRC, PRIDE are some examples). Just remember, nothing that leans too far Right because she was Left-leaning all her life.
She always loved the quote, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.”