Calendar

see extended calendar at www.valleyjournal.net

Saturday, Sept. 4

Enjoy ‘Championship Night’ at speedway

POLSON — Mission Valley Speedway Superoval, 1113 N. Reservoir Rd. will have Mod 4s, Hornets, Hobby Stocks, Legends and late models. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for children 8-14 and children under 7 are free. Seniors ages 55 and older pay $8 an admission fee. Time trials begin at 6 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. For more information call: 406212-8159.

Monday, Sept. 6

Sailboat auctioned

MONTANA — All who love the beautiful Flathead Lake can support the Flathead Lakers’ work to protect clean water in our watershed, and sail off into the sunset on a 1981 J-24 sailboat. The auction is open now and closes on Sept. 6. Fifty percent of the proceeds go directly to protect clean water, healthy ecosystems and a lasting quality of life in the Flathead Watershed. Visit the Flathead Lakers’ website for more information.

Library closed for holiday

POLSON — The North Lake County Public Library will be closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 6. The library will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 9 a.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 8

Quilters to meet

RONAN — The Mission Mountain Quilt Guild will hold their first meeting for the new year in person at the Terrace Lake Community Church in Ronan on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 6:30 p.m. Please remember your membership is due for the new year, and bring your show and tell. veryone is welcome, please come join the fun and enjoy all the new classes that will be going on through the year.

Friday, Sept. 10

Celebrate Ronan Cooperative Brewery’s first birthday

RONAN — The Ronan Cooperative Brewery is celebrating their first birthday. How far we’ve come in the past year. Come and celebrate with us on Friday, Sept 10. There will be live music from the 440’s, yard games, and food in the beer garden.

On Saturday, Sept. 11, there will be a live musical comedy show with Michael Glatzmaier and Deece Casillas. They are making a stop on their Nearly Famous Comedy Tour in Ronan for a special adult show. We have a limited number of tickets, so get yours today for $10.

Saturday, Sept. 11

Garage sale on tap at Polson United Methodist Church

POLSON — The famous Polson United Methodist Church’s garage sale is back and will take place on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The church is located at 301 Sixteenth Ave. E.

Expect to see: kitchen and household items, exercise equipment, jewelry, children’s furniture, books (all for 25 cents each), and so much more.

Superheroes, first responders honored

DAYTON — Dayton Daze, the Chief Cliff VFD/ QRU’s annual fundraiser, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11. All first responders will be honored, including firefighters, emergency medical personnel and law enforcement. Events begin at noon with craft booths, kids’ games, a silent auction, a raffle, soft drinks, beer, free hot dogs, a rifle raffle (tickets available at Polson’s Farmers Market all summer long), and more.

Dress up as a military hero, firefighter, police officer, an EMT or your favorite fictional super hero. There will be prizes for best costumes as well as parade entries/floats. The parade starts at 1 p.m. For more information call Zoe at 406-849-5917.

Saturday, Sept. 18

Golf for tots

POLSON — Polson Bay Golf Course will host the 6th annual Marine Corps Reserves’ Toys for Tots four person golf scramble at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18. For more information, call 406-883-8230.

Ronan Harvest Festival returns

RONAN — The Ronan Harvest Festival returns on Saturday, Sept. 18. Look for the Trail of Bales beforehand as participating community members and organizations dress up round bales in friendly competition to bring awareness to the annual festival. Contact the Ronan Chamber of Commerce for specifics at 406-676-8300 or go to: www.ronanchamber. com.

Saturday, Sept. 25

Free entry to Glacier Park

GLACIER PARK — In celebration of National Public Lands Day, Glacier National Park will allow free entry on Saturday, Sept. 25.

New route, farms planned for Pedal to Plate event

MISSION VALLEY — The annual Mission Mountain Area Pedal to Plate event takes place on Saturday, Sept. 25. This 30-mile scenic bike tour at the base of the Mission Mountains includes a new route, new farms, a locally-sourced organic food dinner, craft beers, local music and an artisan farmer’s market.

Register at: www.bikereg. com/MMAPP. Cost is $70 per person. Check the Facebook page: Pedal2Plate for the most up-to-date information.

Sunday, Sept. 26

Learn about John Muir, Gifford Pinchot philosophies during nature walk

BIGFORK — Take a nature walk on Sunday, Sept. 26, at 11 a.m., at the Bigfork Nature Trail in-town trailhead, featuring author John Clayton, discussing the unique lives of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, who both spent time in and around northwest Montana and the questions their contrasting philosophies raise about “the wild” and our place in it. Contact Kyle Stetler at: kmstetler@gmail. com for more information.

briefs

USDA accepts 2.8M acres for Conservation Reserve Program

News from the USDA

MONTANA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment through the Continuous Signup. The Continuous Signup remains open and CRP Grasslands Signup closed last week, so USDA expects to enroll more acres into all of CRP than the 3 million acres that are expiring.

Fish, Wildlife Commission seeks comment

News from Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks

MONTANA — The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is seeking public review and comment on several wildlife-related items and the 2022 Montana fishing regulations, all of which were approved for comment during the recent commission meeting.

Wildlife proposals include the wild turkey augmentations in north-central Montana, bighorn sheep augmentation on Wildhorse Island, Adaptive Harvest Management Plan for Mule Deer and the 2022 Annual Work Plan for Elk Management in areas with Brucellosis.

More information on the wildlife proposals can be found at: https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/ public-comment-opportunities.

Donna Henderson

BEND, OREGON — Noted master bead artist, Donna Henderson, passed in Bend, Oregon. She was born in Burlingame, California, June 24, 1959, lived her early years in the Bay Area, and later lived in Los Alamitos, California. She moved to Polson when her parents, James A. Shaffer, Jr. and Frances A. Shaffer relocated to Montana with the family. In Polson Donna attended local schools. She worked on the ship, the Retta Mary, in the summers. It was there she met her husband, James Henderson.

Following the death of her mother, she moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where she attended school and worked, eventually returning to Polson for her wedding with Jim. She studied photography at Northern Arizona University and was very connected to the arts community there and in Sedona, Arizona, where she and Jim worked for many years.

The pair relocated to Brookings, Oregon, where she continued her joy of arts. She also worked for Ace Hardware, managing the paint department. Donna focused on beadwork and produced phenomenal pieces influenced both by the years in the Southwest and the beautiful Oregon coast, which she celebrated through her works and were featured in galleries and exhibited in museums. Donna did not limit her beading to jewelry and worked in dimensional art, hanging pieces, and functional pieces as well. Color, pattern, and texture were all integrated.

In 2015, she was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. She relocated to Bend, Oregon, to be close to a Center of Excellence for the treatment of ALS. There she lived with Stella and Brooks, her sister and brother-in-law. For years she worked to retain her abilities, slowing the progress of the ALS. She finally died of the respiratory complications of ALS on Aug. 4, 2021, six years after her initial diagnosis.

Donna is missed by her family and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Fran Shaffer, and her spouse James R. Henderson.

She is survived by her sisters, Stella Larson (Brooks) of Bend, Oregon, Melissa Miller of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Lori Dapelo (Scott) of Santa Rosa, California. She also leaves her niece and nephews, Kelley Larsen, Charles, Alex, Jason, and Inger Larson, their spouses and children. There is much to a life of work and beauty that cannot be described in

Donna Henderson an obituary. Her acerbic wit, her devotion to her friends, and her pure true spirit travel with her. She will forever be in our hearts. Donna’s family wishes to thank the ALS Association of Central Oregon, The Center Orthopedic & Neurological Care and Research of Bend, Oregon, Partners in Care Hospice, Bend, Oregon for their support and care, and a legion of the truest friends who filled her life with love and laughter.

Henderson beadwork

S. Joan Hanson

RONAN — Sylvia Joan Hanson passed away on Aug. 24, 2021. She was born on Oct. 21, 1934, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Leonard and Jean Britton Tiensvold. She was welcomed by her older sister Margaret. By the time the family left Rushville, Nebraska, for Montana, her brother Lyle was born.

The family went to Columbia Falls, where Leonard was hired on the WPA to build road. A year later they bought a cherry orchard across from Yellow Bay State Park.

Joan graduated from Polson High School at 16 and started nurses’ training at St. Patrick’s Hospital. In the last year of training, she met Delbert Hanson, who was an airplane mechanic apprentice at Johnson-Bell Airport. He was the brother of her best friend, Sally Hanson. Nursing students weren’t allowed to marry until they graduated, so after graduation in June, Joan and Del were married on Aug. 28, 1955 at Yellow Bay Clubhouse. While both working in Missoula, they welcomed their first and second child.

They tried their hand at cherry farming, but soon went back to nursing and logging. The next four kids came along every two years for a total of six children, as Joan had always wanted.

After many years of being a traveling nurse seeing the sights of the western states, she retired and spent two great years with Del before he passed.

As the years passed, she and her sister lived together and spent many a morning drinking coffee, playing rummy, and reading good books.

Joan is survived by her sister, Margaret Olmstead, of Plains; her sister in-laws, Nancy Tiensvold of Yellow Bay and Jo Hanson of Plains; her children, Leslie Heppe (Ed) of Superior, Mark Hanson (Lois) of Plains, Aaron Hanson (Maxine) of Charlo, Della Daugherty (Dan) of Charlo, Denise Montgomery (Lee) of Gillette, Wyoming, and Calvin Hanson (Candi) of Spokane, Washington. She is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

Joan was preceded in death by her grandsons, Luke Hanson and Brandon Montgomery.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Shriners Children’s Hospital.

Services have been held.

Richard Benner

POLSON — Richard Cary Benner, born on Jan. 30, 1947, in Eugene, Oregon, went gently into his Heavenly Father’s arms in his sleep in Polson on July 30, 2021. The only book that Dick ever read was the Bible and he had it right on his table where he sat each morning. He had lots of extended family, cousins and friends that loved him.

Dick was a very good

cartoonist, and when he was younger, he frequently would draw caricatures on napkins when the family gathered. Dick was a natural athlete and became a golden gloves champion in Kalispell when he was younger. When he was a freshman at St. Regis High School, he made the varsity basketball team and played in the Divisional tournament that same freshman year. Dick graduated from St. Regis High School in 1965 as Valedictorian of his class. Jim, our brother, shares that before he had his driver’s license, Dick talked him into taking Dad’s Oldsmobile for a solo spin. Naturally, the county highway patrolmen were nearby and gave Jim the ticket, how’s that for luck? Dick volunteered in the Army to serve his country, and as more luck would have it, he landed a tour of duty in Panama during the Vietnam War. After he was discharged, he attended pilot training school in Missoula under the GI bill. He was in the Reserves until 1971. At one point, both Jim and Dick lived in Billings, and Dick would frequentRichard Benner ly drop off candy for his niece, Martha. Elaine suggested that maybe he should bring fruit instead of candy. Not long after that, Jim and Elaine came home to find a whole pineapple on their porch

see page 26

from page 25

that Dick had left.

Dick sold cars for a living and did quite well. He worked for the Pierce’s in Billings and Great Falls and various dealerships. The only way he got a vacation was to quit. Mom had quite a collection of photos of Richard Benner “Car Salesman of the Month.” He did retire early at age 62 because of his severe loss of hearing.

Dick’s passion was fishing. He always carried a rod and reel in his car and he could sniff out many a good fishing hole. Jim shared that he personally never got into fishing off the Pier in Polson with a sausage soaked in WD 40, but it worked. He loved his friends and loved to grab a burger and shoot some pool at the VFW with his vet buddies.

Dick lived his life on his own terms and never strode to impress anyone. He did love family and when mom moved from the Great Falls area, so did he. He loved the camaraderie of family and the special dinners. For years here, Dick lived with his mom, did the lawns and shoveled the snow and at family parties he would slip off to his room when he was tired. Her death affected him greatly and after her death he had his own apartment with a lovely view of the lake and brand new furniture, but life just wasn’t the same for him. We’re happy he is at peace in his heavenly home.

Family who preceded Dick in death were: Albert J. Benner (died at 45); his bonus dad, Lynn S. Brown (June 25, 1988); his beautiful mom, Pearl (Main) Benner/ Brown/ Jackson (12/27/2017); his sister, Alberta A. Nebel (2017), and pastor brother, Rodney Lee Benner (2018); all of our aunts and uncles have passed and Pearl, his mom was from a family of 12.

Dick is survived by his five siblings: Sharon Benner Adamson (Jack) Polson; Jim Benner (Elaine) Las Vegas; Mary E. (Benner)/Aaronson, Florida; Gary Benner (Kim) Billings and Bruce W. Brown (Suzanne) Colstrip. He had over 20 nieces and nephews and he spoiled them with gifts whenever he could.

Dick’s Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at the Polson Community Church on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m. with military honors and a reception to follow. Burial will be at the St. Regis Cemetery on Friday, Sept. 10, at 1 p.m. We invite all of you who knew Dick or the family to please attend. Church services located at 1814 First St. East, Polson, MT 59860.

Memories and condolences may be sent to the family at: www.lakefuneralhomeandcremation. com.

Arrangements are under the care of The Lake Funeral Home in Polson.

AJIJC, MEXICO — Intrepid traveler, beloved healer and radiant being Jyoti SaeUn died July 20 in Ajijic, Mexico, tenderly attended on her final journey by daughter Lisa Haney and the devoted staff at Casa Zoe.

Born on Sept. 4, 1937, in Missoula, the first child of Connie and Joe Niemeyer, she promptly set about revising the name on her birth certificate – Constance Joan – to Jodie. That name stayed with her well beyond her tenure at Hawthorne Grade School, Missoula County High School, and the University of Montana, where she earned a degree in nutrition and institutional management and was a beloved member of the Delta Gamma Sorority.

She married attorney Tom Haney in 1958, and the young couple had two children, Mark (born in 1959) and Lisa (1961).

After Tom’s stint in the military, the family moved to San Francisco and then settled in Santa Barbara, California. Jodie’s marriage ended in 1975 and she remained in that idyllic town for nearly a decade, working and pursuing a graduate degree in counseling psychology.

In 1984, she traveled to Japan to practice Zen Buddhism, and continued on to India “searching for my true name, and my true nature.” In Nepal, where the name Jodie was unknown and hard to pronounce, she became Jyoti, a Sanskrit word meaning “light.”

While traveling across Asia, and then to England, Scotland and Austria, she studied meditation and alternative healing methods. Her pursuits led her back to the Bay Area, where she earned her certification in Bioenergy Balancing, and directed the Berkeley branch of the Bioenergy Balancing Center from 1993-’96.

Jyoti returned to Montana in 1996, and continued to cultivate her work, offering sessions at the Medicine Tree in St. Ignatius and establishing her own practice – the Center for Living in Balance – from 1997-2007 in Polson and Big Arm.

Zen master Genki Takabayashi, a mentor, teacher and dear friend, bestowed her last name, SaeUn, after a healing session. Meaning Clear Cloud in Japanese, her new last name also described her technique: The SaeUn Method, or Clearing Clouds.

“The name really guided me,” she said. “The process of clearing clouds from the energy field around a person became the core method that I practice.”

For the next decade, she offered sessions and weekend intensives across the U.S. and in Canada. She also created a lyrical moving meditation called the Meridian Dance that she shared with hundreds of people over the years.

The Bay Area beckoned in 2008, and she remained there until 2015 when she returned to Montana. She lived in Polson until December, when she embarked on her final earthly adventure, moving to Ajijic, Mexico.

In recent years, her many friends and family members returned the love she had so lavishly given, helping her find safe and loving homes, escorting her on quixotic outings, and feeding her soul with music and poetry. She was elegant, kind and loving through her last breath.

Jyoti was preceded in death by her parents, Connie and Joe Niemeyer. She is survived by her son, Mark (San Diego), daughter Lisa and sonin-law Mark Friedman (Oakland), and granddaughter Kaia Haney (Washington, D.C.); siblings Billie Lee and Kristi Niemeyer (Polson), Jan and wife Chris (Ronan), and Joe and wife Debbie (Cannon Beach, Oregon); aunts Theodora Lambson (St. Ignatius) and Thelma Niemeyer (Hot Springs); myriad nieces, nephews and cousins; and devoted friends, clients and colleagues.

Family and close friends will gather in September to celebrate Jyoti’s life. A virtual send-off is slated for Sunday, Sept. 26; email lhaneyoso@ gmail.com for details. Remembrances may be sent to Lisa Haney, 329 49th St., Oakland CA 94609.