Eileen McCarty

Eileen Ann (Stoner) McCarty passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on October 31, 2024. She was born on March 26, 1936 to Ray and Harriet (Carroll) Stoner. Eileen was raised on the family farm southeast of Outlook, Montana with her older brothers Vernon and Gaylen. She started working on the farm at a young age, planting potatoes from a sledge. Whether trying to rescue her cats from her brothers who teased them or learning how to drive the grain truck for harvest, Eileen cherished her time growing up on the farm.

After spending two years at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, Eileen transferred across the Red River to North Dakota State University where she earned her degree in home economics. 

After meeting Richard McCarty of Scobey, at a Luther League Convention in Fargo, the two were married on September 1, 1957 at Plentywood Lutheran Church. They shared nearly 56 wonderful years together before Richard passed away unexpectedly in 2013. 

Eileen’s teaching career began in Castleton, ND while Richard completed his education at NDSU. In 1961, they returned to Sheridan County where she continued teaching at Plentywood High School and they began a lifetime of farming four miles southwest of town. Eileen often said that her first paychecks were out running around in the field, referring to the financial support she shared in the beginning of their farming career. 

Deciding to leave teaching once daughter, Rae Lynn and son, Paul joined the family, Eileen’s days were filled not only with her children’s each and every activity and being sure they had warm baked goods after school most days, but also with preparing countless lunches and suppers to take out to the fields, moving farm equipment and completing planting maps and branding tags. As the farming business grew to include Poplar, Ceylon, Saskatchewan and Pierre, South Dakota, her work also continued to expand. Eileen epitomized the ideals of a homemaker and a farmer’s wife.

After Eileen’s mother passed away, her father married Mabel Espeland who had seven adult children. The Stoner and Espeland children formed a beautiful blended family, making wonderful memories over the years.

In addition to favorite pastimes of playing bridge, golf, sewing, reading and crossword puzzleing, Eileen was a charter member of the Plentywood Village Hostesses, taught Sunday School and served on various other church boards. She and Richard traveled extensively and spent several winters in the Arizona desert. Her friends meant the world to her and she was blessed to have so many wonderful ones.

In 2012, Richard and Eileen “retired” to Missoula to be closer to their kids and grandkids. In Missoula, Eileen continued to improve her bridge game, playing multiple times a week, even getting the high score with a group of friends just a week before her death. She attended as many of her grandchildren's events as possible and was sure to join in their daily lives.

Eileen was always a positive presence, encouraging those around her to be grateful for the little things. She was thoughtful, kind, and had a sense of humor that could make anyone smile. Our hearts are broken and we are left wondering how we will go on without her presence.

Eileen is preceded in death by her husband, Richard, her parents, Ray, Harriet, and Mabel, her brothers and sisters-in-law, Gaylen (Dori), Vernon (Helen), and her bonus siblings Gladys and Richard.

She is survived by her family that loves her so: her daughter, Rae Lynn D’Angelo and husband Frank, of Missoula; her son, Paul, and wife Natalie, of Bozeman; and grandchildren, Lauren and Connor D’Angelo, and Maicy, Meg, Mason and Madden McCarty. She is also survived by her bonus siblings, Sam, Gene, Dennis, Marilyn and Betty, as well as many nieces and nephews. 

A spring 2025 service in Plentywood is being planned by the family and will be announced at a future date.