Pearl Evelyn (Pedersen) Swank, 100, died Jan. 9, 2024, in Poplar. She was born Oct. 19, 1923 in Congor, Minn., near Albert Lea, Minn., to Danish immigrant parents Peder Marius and Inger (Paulsen) Pedersen. When she was five years old, the family moved to a rented farm north of Circle where she went to country schools. The family moved to Malta after she finished the seventh grade. She graduated from Malta High School in 1941. She graduated in 1945 from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. She taught in Culbertson, Nashua, Fairview and Poplar High Schools. She married Eugene Swank of North Poplar in 1952, where they raised their four children. She was an active leader for decades in the Up‘N-Atom 4-H Club teaching girls to sew, using her home economics teaching skills. She sewed all her own dresses, always had a big garden and many people appreciated “Pearl’s potatoes.” She took up quilting after her children graduated from high school, cutting blocks and sewing quilts for babies and old folks. She put together thousands of quilt tops that were donated to Denver Children’s Hospital, Daniels County Nursing Home and other charities. The star quilts she made were all quilted by her hand and she gave several neighbor teens quilts when they graduated high school. She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church (north Brockton) and attended Pleasant Prairie Lutheran Church (Flaxville). She had a wonderful 100th birthday celebration with friends and family, continued sewing until the last two months and resided on the family farm until her death. She is survived by her children, Donna Swank Rudiger, Mark Swank, Lyle Swank of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Lois Weber; numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her siblings, Chris, Emil, Rosa Seppala and Paul; and her husband, Eugene. A private family burial will take place at Zion Lutheran Church at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, north of Brockton. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Pleasant Prairie Lutheran Church (mile marker 32 on Hwy 251, County Line Rd). Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel was entrusted with the arrangements.

Susan Finnicum, 67, of Culbertson died Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in her home in Culbertson. She was the seventh child born to Montana and Bernie Finnicum, born Nov. 6, 1956. She grew up around a lot of family. She graduated from Culbertson High School in 1975. She played basketball in high school and passed her love of basketball on to her daughter, Jenna. She was a lifeguard at the Culbertson pool in the summers. She attended college in Billings until she married Terry Anderson and then received her degree from Wyoming State University Laramie. They lived in Albin, Wyo., where they had two daughters, Tana and Jenna. They eventually moved to Missouri and lived there for several years. They finally settled in Sheridan, Wyo., where they raised their girls, kept horses, dogs, cats and other animals. She worked for a credit union during this time. She had a great love for God, children and animals. She always had at least one dog, a cat and a couple of horses. In 1997, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She had great faith in God and was a 27-year survivor of breast cancer. Her family rallied around her to get her through all the chemo, stem cell treatment and radiation. Unfortunately, her marriage did not survive breast cancer and she eventually took a job with a ranch near Wyola where she did haying and feeding cattle. She met her second husband, David Soto, while working at the ranch. They moved to a small farm near the state line east of Bainville where she had her horses, cat, dog and a pot belly pig. She worked with her brother, Butch, at the furniture store in Williston until it closed in 2011. While she had never been to Kalispell, she decided to move there when the store closed. She made her first trip to Kalispell and bought a place on top of a mountain for herself and her horses in Kila. She found a church she loved and made many friends. She worked at a hotel for a while, but found a job in home health care that she truly loved and at which she was very good. She retired when COVID hit. The summer of 2022, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Mesothelioma. Her sister LaVonne and her husband, Scotty Scotson, spent several months with her while she did chemotherapy. She came home in November 2022 after a heart attack so her sisters could share her care. She started immunotherapy at the Sidney Cancer Center in January 2023. She lived in her Grandmother Annie’s little house with her dog, Mattie, and cat, Mewly. Her brother- in-law Steve was her personal chef and provided her with two meals a day. In September 2023, she decided she was done with any cancer treatment. Her sisters continued to give her care until her death. She was preceded in death by her brother, Butch Finnicum. She is survived by her daughters, Tana Bahruth and Jenna Anderson; one grandson; brothers, Paul Finnicum and Bill Finnicum; sisters, Diane Hampton, LaVonne Scotson, Nancy Hansen and Bonnie Hellweg. Per her wishes, she had a graveside service at the Culbertson Hillside Cemetery on Dec. 23, 2023, and she was interred with her companions, Mattie and Mewly.