For Descendants of Christopher (Doc) Cranston & Bess Melby
Karen Ann LaVelle (Melby) was the proud daughter of two teachers, a loving wife and mother to five children, a grandmother to twenty-two grandchildren and a great-grandma to fourteen great-grandchildren. Mom served as a registered nurse in many capacities including supervisor at St. Pat’s in Missoula, MT and eventually retired as a home health care […]
Read More…Former longtime Durango resident Catherine Elizabeth Dodd passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 7, 2021 in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Born to Preston and Marion Painter in Harding County, South Dakota on October 9, 1939, she was raised on the family ranch with her four brothers and four sisters. Cathy married Richard Dodd of Spearfish, South […]
Read More…Jan G. Painter, 78, of Scottsbluff, died October 15, 2016 at the Residency Care Center in Scottsbluff. Funeral services were set for 10 a.m. Saturday, October 22 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scottsbluff, with Bishop Randall Mills officiating. Burial was to follow at 3 p.m. at the Glenn Cemetery near […]
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Ruth Doreen Painter Henrikson passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on June 1, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family. Ruth was born on September 13, 1951, in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to Preston Elmer Painter and Marion Josephine Cranston Painter. She was one of nine children and spent her childhood on […]
Read More…Funeral services for Robert Lewis Painter, 83 of Crawford, NE will be held at 11 am Friday April 23 at the Scottsbluff Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Bishop John Blomstedt presiding. Robert (Bob) died April 18, 2021 at the Monument care center in Scottsbluff. Burial will be at 3pm at the Glendale […]
Read More…Jean Elizabeth Melby-Mauer of Las Vegas passed away on Sunday, December 22nd. She was born to the late Sydney Melby and Ruth Kelly on September 10th, 1948 in Missoula, MT. Jean attended Whitman College and the University of Washington. She pursued graduate studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She taught English as a […]
Read More…These are memories of Ruth Kelly Melby from her daughter – Jean Melby. ~ 2015 Remembering My Mother Ruth, my mother, was a special woman. Born in a small house on the prairie in 1912, she was delivered by my Aunt Esther, who at the time was only a teenager. Always an avid reader and […]
Read More…From Karen Melby Lavelle All mankind has in common a mother and a father .I had a mother and a father. They had all the requisite warts, wonders and splendors. One of those splendors was my Mother’s fierce determination and courage. I had graduated from Montana State University with an associate degree in nursing. All […]
Read More…My Mother, the Laundress In the 1950’s and 1960’s Belle Fourche was a town of about 5,000 people. It was a time when kids walked everywhere or maybe rode their bicycles. Being the 5th of 10 children and starting at age 11, the oldest daughter at home, I was called upon to help my Mom […]
Read More…Susanne Helen Davies, 67, of Gainesville, passed away June 3, 2007 at the Prince William Hospital. Born May 6, 1940 in Bowman, North Dakota, she was the daughter of Wood and Helen Cranston Jett. On December 27, 1960 in Hot Springs, South Dakota, she married John L. Davies, her beloved husband and best friend, who […]
Read More…HYRUM, Utah – Daniel Preston Painter, 60, passed away peacefully at his home in Hyrum, Utah, surrounded by his beloved family on Sunday, November 5, 2006, from renal (kidney) cancer. Dan was born January 31, 1946 in Hot Springs, South Dakota to Preston and Marion Cranston Painter. He was the fourth child of ten children. […]
Read More…On April 18, 1951, William Randolph Cranston (Bill) was killed in a two car crash near the town of Tyndall, South Dakota. He was riding in the back seat of a Cadillac and the driver attempted to pass a car on a hill but met another car coming up the hill. The driver swerved to […]
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