Althea Benedict Uhlig

Althea Benedict Uhlig passed away Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at the Riverside Healthcare Center in Missoula. She was 87. Althea was born March 29, 1928, to Harry Albert Benedict and Gladys Althea Bright. She is survived by her son Karl Uhlig (Sharon); daughter Christine Wilkinson (Ed); granddaughter Theresa Robarge (Jon) and sister Sharon (Tony) Hughes.

Althea's mother, Gladys Althea Bright, passed away when Althea was only 1-month-old, and when Althea was three, her father remarried. Althea attended school in Mason City, Iowa, until her last two years of high school. At that time she, her sister and stepmother moved to Nevada to join her father who was assisting with the war effort.

Althea met her future husband, Ed while a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she received a full scholarship. Following a one-year separation while Ed pursued training for General Electric and Althea went to Boston for a dietetic internship, the couple married in September 1950. The addition of two children made their family complete – son Karl and daughter Christine.

Ed and Althea spent their initial retirement years sailing, and on their 35th wedding anniversary they took their new 36-foot Trawler "Lady Belle" and sailed the "Big-O" – a route from Maine down the East Coast, around Florida, through the Gulf, up the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes, east through Canada, the Hudson River to New York and back to Maine. Althea and Ed continued to sail for eight years.

Following Ed's death in 2010, Althea moved to The Springs in Missoula to be closer to family. The family would like to express their gratitude to Althea's many friends and the staff at The Springs. All of you were instrumental in making her feel at home there, and she cherished her time with you.

Donations in Althea's memory may be made to Hospice of Missoula, the Missoula Food Bank or another charity of the donor's choice.

A celebration of Althea's life will be held at The Springs in Missoula on Monday, March 7, at 10 a.m. Messages of condolence may be left for Althea at missoulafuneralhomes.com.


Read Althea Uhlig's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.