Gloria Ann Puckett

 Our beloved mother, Gloria Ann Puckett, went home to be with her Lord and Saviour on

November 23, 2023. She passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Kalispell,

Montana. She was a kind, strong, generous, and religious woman who deeply loved her family,

friends, and God.

Gloria was born January 10, 1939, to William and Nellie (Moon) Paumer in Basin, Wyoming.

She attended grammar school in a small Hyattville, WY schoolhouse and high school in nearby

Manderson The youngest of four daughters, Gloria found herself outside working with her

father on the family ranch near Hyattville. She was his “right-hand man”. Loving to ride her

favorite horse, Cricket, she never found the time or the need to learn to ride a bicycle, Gloria’s

love for music also began here. She played the clarinet and sang in school and church choirs.

Upon graduation, Gloria enrolled at Eastern Montana College to pursue her teaching degree.

Gloria paid her way through college by raising champion Hereford bulls. While at EMC Gloria

was a member of the United Campus Christian Fellowship. She continued her music here as

well singing in choirs and being featured in the opera “The Cloak” She then moved to Wolf

Point, MT for her first teaching job. It was in this town where she met her life-long love of 60

years, Edward.

Gloria taught in the Wolf Point school system for a few years before moving to Great Falls and

Fairfield to start a dry cleaning business. They had two kids along the way, Brent and Michelle.

They moved back to Wolf Point and opened another dry cleaning business, where they had

Valerie. Gloria began teaching again while also working at the family dry cleaning business An

opportunity arose, and the family moved to Glasgow Air Force Base where Gloria continued her

teaching as the Director of the Head Start Program. Van, their fourth, was born there.

The family camped many weekends and traveled to many places around the West, including the

Black Hills, Disneyland, the International Exposition on the Environment in 1974, and a caravan

of 18 relatives to the Pacific Coast for clam digging and salmon fishing. The family remained in

Glasgow until another opportunity arose to move the family overseas to Iran. With the overthrow

of the Shah imminent in 1978, Gloria and her husband moved the family back to Montana. On

the trip back, Ed and Gloria took the entire family and 18 suitcases on an epic, six-week, lifetime

adventure through Europe. The family visited nearly every Western European country. For 10 of

those days, the family traveled in a VW camping van through Northern Europe—with no

iPhones or GPS. The family visited Washington D.C. for a week before returning home. After a

nearly two-year absence, the Pucketts returned to Montana, moving to Kalispell.

Over the next 40-plus years, Gloria raised her family and had careers at a few valley businesses

including as a bookkeeper for a retail business and as the activity coordinator for the Immanuel

Lutheran Home, a job she dearly loved. At Immanuel, Gloria was able to use her lifetime of

talents for the enjoyment of the residents. These included crafting, music, flower arranging,

gardening and she applied them all to her final vocation. It was here that she was also able to

share faith through love and prayers with residents. All the while, Gloria remained active in her

church by singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, and through outreach programs.

Gloria’s greatest joy was spending time with family, friends, and helping others. Gloria loved to

sing, have tea parties, or do crafts, like making corn husk dolls, with her grandchildren. She also

enjoyed crafting, playing pinochle, creating costumes, and visiting with her friends. Gloria loved

to spread the Word of Christ through prayers, words, and actions. Comforting all the best she

could with kindness and companionship.

In her free time, Gloria was a generous person who often helped people less fortunate than

herself. She could often be found baking cinnamon rolls and growing raspberries and flowers to

give to friends.

After retirement, Gloria remained active by attending her grandchildren’s events, thrifting,

participating in a book club, a woman’s church fellowship, and growing amazing gardens.

.

She treasured and bragged about her four children, 14 grandchildren, and three

great-grandchildren. Ed and Gloria attended every one of their children’s and grandchildren’s

high school graduations, three grandchildren's weddings, and all but two college graduation.

This was one of Gloria’s proudest achievements. She was devoted and fiercely protective of her

family.

She was proud of her family history, tracing one side to Pilgrims on the Mayflower, another side

to Czechoslovakia, and beyond. Gloria often was proud to say “even though they weren't rich

people, they felt their family was their wealth”.

Gloria is survived by two sisters, Helen Stevenson (Robert) Payson, UT, Virginia Frisbee, Basin,

WY, her four children, Brent (Ellen) Castle Rock, CO, Michelle Sundh (Marlon) Kalispell, Valerie

Kouns (John) Kalispell, and Van (Heather) Twin Bridges, 14 grandchildren, and three

great-grandchildren.

She will be remembered for her singing, her love of God, her contagious laughter, her red hair.

and her love of flowers.

Our dear, sweet mother has been carried away by the angels and is now resting peacefully with

her loved ones and God. She will be greatly missed by all that knew her.

A memorial service for Gloria will be held 2 PM December 9, 2023 at Buffalo Hills Terrace in

Kalispell, MT. The immediate family will hold a private interment service at Woodlawn Cemetery

on a later date to be determined,