Dorothy Ruth Denend

Dorothy Ruth Denend, born Dorothy Ruth McWhirk, Jan. 9, 1924 passed away peacefully Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017 at Hillside Manor after a long bout with cancer. She was 93!

She was born in Stevensville to Rose Sherman McWhirk and Robert McWhirk. She grew up in the Bitterroot and graduated from Victor High School. She enjoyed using her artistic skill with artwork used in the school paper. She married Juaquin Flahive in 1943 and had three children; Jerry, Anita and Jim. Juaquin died in the winter of 1951. Dorothy worked at a grocery store in Missoula and worked as a seamstress and sold magazine subscriptions to care for her children.

In July 1953, she married Richard Denend who was working for Fuller Paint and became well known as a Fuller Brush distributor for almost 50 years in Missoula; to this union two children were born Lori Lee and David. Richard died in March of 1999. From 1953 to 1968, Dorothy worked as a nursing assistant at Missoula’s St. Patrick Hospital.

Always a hard worker and passionate about family, she enjoyed using her skills learned from growing up on a farm during the depression; sewing, knitting, gardening and food preparation to help raise and care for her family and winning ribbons for her baked goods at the Missoula County Fair. A life member of the Missoula Loyal Order of the Moose, she helped sew their uniforms also marched in parades with the women’s drill squad. Her and her husband Richard marched and played in the Moose’s drum and bugle band.
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Always a good neighbor she grew a large garden in the back yard of her home, 103 Tahoe Drive and often donated fresh produce to the local food bank. She was a dedicated University of Montana Grizzly fan, she would cheer on the team while watching on television or listening to the radio.

She is survived by two sisters, Florence and Jean, five children, Jerry, Anita, Jim, their younger sister Lori Lee and younger brother David, 12 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Missoula Manor, 909 W. Central in Missoula Saturday March 4, 2017 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Missoula Manor endowment fund, where she resided for 16 years, that takes care of the needs of the residents there.