Phyllis L. Sethre was born on Aug. 10, 1945, in Williston, N.D., to Oscar and Lucille Olson. She passed away peacefully on Dec. 13, 2023, in Billings, Mont.
Phyllis was raised on a farm north of Culbertson, Mont., and attended the Mc-Cabe Country School until the sixth grade. Her family then moved to Sidney, Mont., and she graduated from Sidney High School in 1963.
After a brief time as a social worker, she graduated from Montana State University in 1969 with a degree in agriculture business management. She began her career as an agricultural loan officer in Great Falls, Mont.
In the winter of 1977, she met Gary Sethre in Great Falls and they were married six months later. They returned to his family farm north of Wolf Point and together they built and enjoyed a successful farming operation for the next 45 years. During this time, she also acquired her real estate appraisal license and opened Sethre Appraisal Services. Appraising took her all across northeastern Montana and she thoroughly enjoyed the work and meeting people.
Phyllis believed in volunteering in her community. She invested her time in many organizations including 4-H, the Roosevelt Country Fair board, the Montana Republican Party, First Lutheran Church, American Legion Auxiliary and the Theodore Roosevelt Foundation. She was honored to be named Grand Marshal of the Wild Horse Stampede in
