Marie Louise (Albertson) Gaustad

Marie Louise (Albertson) Gaustad, 101, of Livingston, Montana, passed away Thursday, December 3, 2015 at her home surrounded by her loving family. Cremation has taken place at the Franzen-Davis Crematory. Due to difficulty of winter travel, a memorial funeral service is planned for 11:00 A.M., Saturday, June 25th, 2016, at American Lutheran Church in Livingston. Graveside committal and burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to Livingston HealthCare Hospice, 320 Alpenglow Lane; Livingston, MT 59047. Mom was born on November 9th, 1914 in Burk Township, Minnehaha County, South Dakota to Ludwig and Karen (Rostum) Albertson. She was the second youngest of seven children. She grew up on the family farm, received her grade school education in Dell Rapids and graduated from Sioux Falls High School in 1933. Since it had been a dream of Moms to "go west", shortly after graduation, she and her brother Ivar drove to the Lennep, Montana area in his Model A Ford. There they both had employment on the A.C. Grande Ranch which was owned by a relative of their mother. While working there she met the "love of her life" Arthur Gaustad. On April 8th, 1935 they were united in marriage in Great Falls, MT. They lived and worked in the Lennep area until 1947 when they decided to move to Livingston where they raised two children, Karen and David. Marie and Arthur shared 62 years of marriage until his death in 1997. Mom worked for Safeway Foods until her retirement, and Dad was custodian of the West Side and Washington Schools until his retirement. They both loved the outdoors, their home and yard, fishing, and one favorite activity was going to Mill Creek to cut firewood. They didnt have a wood burning stove or fireplace, but they just enjoyed getting out in the forest to cut wood so, their daughter, Karen, who did have both a wood burning stove and fireplace benefitted greatly from their efforts. For several years, they also volunteered for the Forest Service in maintaining several mountain cabins. This was a matter of real enjoyment and pride. She especially enjoyed spending time with her family, grandchildren, friends and the occasional card game. After Arthur passed away, Marie and her daughter did some traveling together. They visited relatives in San Diego, Seattle and San Jose; took the Inland Passage trip to Alaska, went to Hawaii, and Branson, Missouri. Two of the most memorable and fun trips of her life were with granddaughter Vicki, her husband Todd McDonald, and his parents who took them to Victoria, B.C. (Canada), and to the New England states to see the fall colors. Another very special venture was the float trip with her son on the Kootenai River in his rubber raft. She loved it. Her last trip was to attend her grandson Erics wedding to Andrea Barr in Savannah, Georgia. While there, during a sightseeing trip, she climbed a lighthouse stairway to the top (this at age 91). Mom was kind, hardworking, loving and physically fit. At the age of 65, she hike to Pine Creek Lake with her daughter. She knew patience with her family, as both of her children can attest to; was a great cook, a wonderful mother and faithful member of American Lutheran Church; the Church her uncle helped to build. Marie is survived by her children, Karen Nelson of Livingston and David (Kendra) Gaustad of Libby, MT; grandchildren Deborah Nelson of Bozeman, Daniel Nelson of Livingston, Vicki (Todd) McDonald of Billings, Eric (Andrea) Gaustad of Savannah, GA and Theresa (Teddy) Chow of Richland, WA; great-grandchildren Shelby, Krysta and Kara Nelson, Sammantha McDonald, Matthew and Liam Gaustad, and Dean and Doug Chow; great-great grandsons Julian Seely and Jayce Olivas; and several nieces and nephews. Marie is preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings Arnolf and Ivar Albertson, Lillian Olson, Cora Holm, Olga Morkve and Anna Mitchell. Arrangements are under the care of Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory.