Myrna J. Weide, age 80, of Hamilton, MT, formerly of Wessington, died on Saturday, August 23, 2014, at the BeeHive Homes in Hamilton, MT. Following her wishes, she was cremated and burial of her cremated remains will be 2:00 pm Friday, September 5, at Wessington Cemetery. There will be no visitation. On January 20, 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression, Dr. McKie guided his Ford through wind-driven snow to the farm of Frank and Amy Thompson where he delivered Myrna Joanne into the world. On the farm, located near Wessington, South Dakota, the Thompsons grew wheat commercially as well as corn, alfalfa, and cane to feed the Hereford cattle they raised for market. Myrna's early education took place in a one-room schoolhouse (complete with an outhouse) which, in the stories she told us boys during our childhood, was "a LONG walk from home." Years later, during a visit to South Dakota, we clocked the distance. The odometer registered that legendary trek at less than half a mile. Mom, who possessed the ability to laugh at herself, shrugged, arched her eye brows, and said, "Well, it seemed a lot farther back then." Myrna and her older sisters, Elnora and Mildred, worked on the farm, so hard that they all left the farm in search of greener pastures. Myrna's search commenced during her junior of high school year which she attended in Huron where she lived in a room rented from a resident who took in boarders. In late March, as spring struggled to make itself known, Myrna steeled herself, walked into morning study hall, and told the teacher, "I won't be coming back to school. I'm getting married." On the day after April Fools Day 1951, she married Lavern Emil Weide and the two of them, along with Vern's sister Adeline, drove to California where Vern reported back to duty at Travis Air Force Base, near Fairfield. Myrna gave birth to Bruce in May of 1953. Following Vern's enlistment, they moved to Whittier, California and bought a starter home' in a suburb carved out of an orange orchard. Vern worked in the banking industry and Myrna ran the house. In her spare time she earned her GED, an accomplishment of which she was justifiably quite proud. Brent, the fourth member of the Weide family, was born in 1959. Myrna and Vern began enjoying weekends and summer holidays on the Colorado River where they eventually built a cabin on the Parker Strip next door to her brother-in-law Bill and sister, Elnora with whom she was exceedingly close. They bought an old motor boat and Myrna loved water-skiing; her motto: "The faster the better." The boys grew up hiking and exploring the Mojave Desert that stretched out beyond their backyard. Vern made a career change in the mid-60's and went to work for WODEC (Western Offshore Drilling and Exploration Company), an oil exploration company. The family moved up to Anchorage, Alaska in 1967 where they backpacked, camped, fished, and found tremendous pleasure in the magnificent outdoors of Alaska. Mom worked at Brent's school as part of the lunchroom staff and enjoyed her time working with the teachers and students. She also took up painting and explored the mediums of oils and pastels. After Vern was transferred back to California the family moved to Orange County and purchased a home in La Habra where Mom and Dad lived for the next 44 years. Here she began quilting seriously and became a master quilter. Every year the Weide family followed a wonderful tradition of rendezvousing at Gopher Ranch located at the mouth of Blodgett Canyon near Hamilton, Montana where Bruce and his wife Pat Tucker live. There, at Camp Tuckahweide, the family camped out, enjoyed weenie-roasts, and stories told around the campfire. The visits coincided with the Ravalli County Fair and on "Fair Day", the whole family devoted the day to exploring the sights and eating fair food, always starting with Elephant Ears deep fried dough with sugar sprinkled on top. Mom loved these times with her family. Vern died in 2012 and was cared for by Myrna right to the end. Myrna moved to Hamilton, Montana in 2014 to be closer to family and the Montana property she loved so dearly. Mom exhibited a wonderful sense of humour and always had a ready smile and loved to laugh. She thoroughly enjoyed volunteering to work the sales table at Wild Sentry programs that Bruce and Pat presented to increase public awareness of wolf behaviour and the reintroduction efforts taking place in the northern Rockies and the southwest. And she always harboured the Dakota Prairies near and dear to her heart. Myrna is survived by her sister Elnora and husband Bill Osburn of Whittier, California, son Bruce Weide & daughter-in-law Patricia Tucker of Hamilton, Montana, son Brent Weide & daughter-in-law Susan Lewis of Portland, Oregon, grand-daughter Jayde Weide of Bowling Green Ohio, and grandsons Parker Weide of Corvallis, Oregon, and Ian Freeman of Portland, Oregon and her wonderful neighbours and friends. She was a steadfast friend, loving wife, and supportive, nurturing mother and will be missed.