Beth Dean

Funeral Service for Kathleen Beth Dean, 63, of Ekalaka, MT will be 2:00 p. m. Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at the Carter County High School Gymnasium with Mike Follett officiating. Interment will follow in the family lot in the Beaver Lodge Cemetery at Ekalaka, MT. Visitation will be 6:00 p. m. to 9:00 p. m. Monday, April 23, 2007 in the Chapel of Stevenson Funeral home in Baker, MT. The family will receive friends from 6:00 p. m. to 8:00 p. m. in the Chapel. Beth passed away Friday, April 20, 2007 at Billings Clinic in Billings, MT with her family at her side. Kathleen Beth Dean was born on June 10, 1943, a daughter of William E. and Nona D. (Shelden) Kirkwood in Ekalaka, MT. Beth spent her early years growing up in Ekalaka and various parts of Montana, as her mom was a schoolteacher. Beth returned to Ekalaka where she attended all four years of high school, graduating with the class of 1961. After graduation, Beth followed in her mother?s foot steps and enrolled in college at Black Hills Teachers College, now known as Black Hills State in Spearfish, SD. Beth loved the thought of being a schoolteacher, and took a position halfway through her first year of college at the Grandview School in the Chalk Buttes community. Later that fall Beth returned to Black Hills Teachers College, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. Along with her friend Betty, the pair took teaching positions in Canby, MN. Beth left Canby and ventured to New Castle, WY. It was during this time that Beth married the man of her life. On June 15, 1968, Beth and Larry Eugene Dean were married at the Congregational Church in Ekalaka, MT. Beth taught the next two years in Baker, MT. After teaching in Baker, Beth took time off to raise her family. Beth enjoyed being a fulltime mom and being involved in her children?s lives. After seven years, Beth took a position teaching school in Ekalaka, where she taught for the next 26 years until her retirement. Beth was a member of the National Education Association, Montana Education Association and the Ekalaka Teachers Association. Beth served on the Ekalaka Town Council. She enjoyed reading, listening to country music and dancing. Beth?s greatest enjoyment in life was for her husband, children and grandchildren. Beth was always available for her family, and was the ?rock? everyone could lean on in times of need. Beth is survived by her loving husband, Larry Dean, Ekalaka, MT; her son, Calvin (Pamela) Dean, Dickinson, ND; her daughter, Janell Dean, Ekalaka, MT; her two precious grandchildren, Christopher and Elizabeth Dean, Dickinson, ND; a sister, Marcella (Lloyd) Meldrum, Beaverton, OR; her brother, Raymond, (Sandra) Kirkwood, Ekalaka, MT and numerous nieces and nephews. Her parents, William and Nona and her sister Florence Walker preceded her in death.


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Burial Date: April 24, 2007
Funeral Home Ekalaka, MT

Funeral Service: Tuesday, Carter County High School Gymnasium, Ekalaka, MT