Alta Irene Thorning (Kearney)

Alta Irene (Kearney) Thorning age 82, of Missoula, died at St Patrick's Hospital Saturday April 20th, 2013 of natural causes. Alta was born at home on Shane Creek, near Columbus, MT on September 30, 1930. One of five kids, she attended a one room school house on Shane Creek, where her family raised livestock and farmed. She told stories of raising pigs and cattle for 4H, and of favorite horses she had, one of which liked to brush its riders off on low branches.
Alta went to high school in Edgar, where she was a cheerleader and was voted "best nose" by her classmates. In 1947, her parents, Wes and Clare Kearney, moved their family to the West Fork of the Bitterroot River near Darby, MT. Alta and her younger sister Georgia, age 16, and their younger brother Ted, age 10, stayed behind in Edgar to finish out their year of school. They took the train to Darby for Christmas then returned to Edgar. They were self-sufficient and trustworthy, a testament to their life growing up on a ranch.
In 1948 she met Rodney Thorning, a US Navy veteran of the South Pacific Theater in WW2 who had returned to Darby to work his grandmother's ranch on Rye Creek. They were married October 12, 1948, a 52-year marriage that lasted until Rod's death on November 2, 2000.
Alta kept their house while Rod worked in sawmills between Darby and Missoula. Alta always said she learned how to cook from Rod's grandmother in those early years, and told many stories about the "good old days" of their youth together when she cooked over an old wood stove, only had 2 coffee cups, and an orange crate for a coffee table.
Their daughter Cindy was born in Hamilton in 1952--their son Scott was born there in 1955.
In 1956, they moved to Arcata, California where Rod worked for Georgia Pacific sawmills, sawing redwoods. Even though Alta didn't like the cold dreary weather of Northern California, she always told stories about living there and enjoyed being close to her sister Georgia who had also moved there with her family. They only lived 2 houses apart and spent a lot of time together. They moved back to Montana after 4 years, and stayed in Hamilton for the summer before settling down in Missoula.
Rod worked at local sawmills before being hired at the Horner-Waldorf paper mill in Frenchtown in 1960, where he worked for 31 years. They bought their house on Knowles Street in Missoula and stayed there for the rest of their lives. Though their house is in the middle of Missoula today, she remembered when they were surrounded by dirt roads and fields, and watched the neighborhood grow around them.
Aside from a year working at the Community Hospital laundry in 1968, Alta devoted her life to raising her kids, grandkids, and taking care of her husband and household. She was known for being an amazing cook and gardener, and for keeping her house "just so," as she would put it. She was a true perfectionist who had an excellent sense of style and worked hard at everything she did.
She was preceded in death by her parents Wes and Clare Kearney, sister Georgia Shook of Hamilton, MT, brother Ted Kearney of Canyon Country, California, and her husband Rod. She is survived by her daughter Cindy Barba (John), son Scott Thorning (Collette), grandchildren Justin Barba (Melissa), Josh Barba, Nathan Thorning, all of Missoula, Ashley Barba of Chicago, Illinois, and Seth Thorning of Missoula, and great-grandchildren Gianna Barba of Missoula, and Samuel Thorning and Natalie Thorning of Grand Junction Colorado, as well as her sister Katherine Jennings of Idaho, brother Victor (Beverly) Kearney, of Darby, MT, and Donna (Pete) Meland of Richfield, MN.
Alta is to be cremated and buried at Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton, MT alongside her husband Rod. Graveside services will be held there Friday April 26, 2013 at 11:00am. A reception will follow at Daly-Leach funeral home in Hamilton.
Garden City Funeral Home & Crematory is assisting the family. Condolences and memories may be left for the family at www.missoulafuneralhomes.com

Read Alta Thorning's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.