Paula A. Babione

Paula A. (Engleking) Babione, 69, of Livingston, MT passed away unexpectedly of COVID pneumonia on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at the Livingston HealthCare Hospital.Paula was born on July 8, 1952, in Elgin, Illinois to Florence (Goll) and Robert Engleking. She attended schools locally and was a graduate of Larkin High School. Following her graduation, she did her hippy thing and traveled North America; she truly soaked up as much of Canada and the USA as she could. She would meet and marry her first husband, which blessed her with three wonderful sons, Gram Parsons Dorsey, born in 1975, Joseph William "Joey" Dorse,y born in 1977, and Benjamin Scott Dorsey, born in 1978. She raised her kids as a single mom, moving back to Elgin where she had support from her mother with the boys. Paula had always dreamed of living in the mountains. As a determined woman and mother, she packed up the kids and moved out west. They settled in Dubois, Wyoming where she did everything and anything to support her sons and herself. They even lived in a tent for a bit while getting established; she took every job she could, bartending, working motels, and selling insurance. Paula would end up meeting a recently retired veteran in Virgil Babione while shooting pool in Dubois. She and Lynn Duncan, Virgil's sister, became friends and eventually they got this shy cowboy to do a bit of talking and Paula and Virgil became inseparable. On May 13, 2000, they were married and started their journey together. They would move to Cody, WY to work on the HooDoo Ranch where Paula was the ranch manager and Virgil worked as a ranch hand. They had a dream of working for themselves and had gotten word that Wayne Bowman was selling Wilson Boots. On April 3rd, 2013, they purchased the business and moved to Livingston, Montana. They have operated the business together since, and in 2015 welcomed her son, Ben to the business as well. Paula was a dream at dealing with customers and Virgil had his set of skills building and repairing boots; just like their work relationship, they had different talents and attributes that when put together, made for a well-oiled machine. Paula was a determined, hardworking woman who was tremendously conscious of the work she did. She had a tendency to be correct, even if you proved her to be wrong. As a mom, her sons were her world. She was proud of them and supported them in every way she could. Her heart was full of love. Even though you may be gone, we will forever keep some of that love in our hearts. Paula is survived by her loving husband, Virgil of Livingston; her sons, Gram Dorsey and his daughter, Lydia of Tennessee; Benjamin Dorsey of Montana; and brother, Robert "Bobby" Engleking of New Mexico.She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Florence Engleking; son, Joey Dorsey who passed as the result of an auto accident in 1998; her mother-in-law Betty (Tony) Legerski, and father-in-law, Richard Babione.Services for Paula are scheduled for Thursday, September 30, 2021, at 3:30 p.m., at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home, with visitation available one hour prior to the service. Please join the family after the service at The Buckhorn, 5237 Hwy 89 S, to continue the celebration of Paula's life.

Service

Thursday, September 30, 2021 3:30 PM
Franzen-Davis Funeral Home & Crematory
118 N. 3rd St. Livingston 59047, United States