Rose Nei

Montana lost one of her centenarians on Monday, July 6th 2015. Rosalia Kilber Nei was born in April 1912 in Mannhaven, North Dakota. Her parents, Adam and Sophia Kilber, emigrated from Simferopol, in what was then Russia in 1910. They were members of the large Black Sea German community of farmers and craftsmen. They and their eight children came through the port of Baltimore, Maryland on their way to their new farm outside Mannhaven. Rose, their last child and the only one born in America, arrived just a year after they were naturalized. She grew up on their farm and spent her adolescence in the town of Hazen. Some of her favorite memories were centered on attending school at Hazen's historic St. Paul Lutheran church. She met Walter Nei around 1930 in Hazen; a fellow German, he worked at his father Ludwig's lumber business. They married in Bismarck in 1932. Like many children of German immigrants, they were fluent in the language and passed down to their descendants, sons Kenneth, Ormie, and Landon, and daughter Marilyn, a love of their food and culture. Having gone on many hunting trips to Montana with his friends, Walter decided to pursue a business opportunity in a place he had come to love and moved his family to Missoula in 1950 to own what became Nei's Conoco on the corner of 4th and Higgins. Their gas station is now the popular Bridge Pizza. Rose settled into life here; a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church on Brooks, she loved to garden, cook, fish, play cards with friends and family, and explore the backroads of Montana. She was known for her perfect fashion sense right up until the end of her life. Her children graduated from Missoula high schools and Montana universities, and moved on to the wider world. Her son Ken worked for Bell Laboratories in New Jersey; he and his wife Terri of Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania have Rose's grandchildren Michelle and Michael and great-grandchildren Christopher, Patrick, and Emma. Ormie worked for the Department of Defense and U.S. Forest Service across the country from Alaska to Puerto Rico. He and his wife Joyce of Surprise, Arizona have Rose's grandsons Steven and Michael and great-grandchildren Trevor, Una, and Sadie. Landon "Lanny" was the head of civilian personnel for the Department of the Navy in Vietnam and Washington DC. After retiring he returned to Missoula where he and his wife Kim spent many happy hours fishing and berry picking. Marilyn, now a resident of Missoula, was a benefits specialist for private industry and state government; she moved with her husband Peter to California where they had Rose's granddaughter Rebecca. Rose is preceded in death by her husband Walter, her sons Ormie and Lanny, her son-in-law Peter, and her daughter-in-law Kim. She attributed her longevity to working hard on family farms when she was young. Thank you to the staff of Partners Hospice, Riverside Health Care Center, and Bee Hive Homes. A private viewing and graveside service will take place in Missoula. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made in her memory to the YWCA of Missoula.
Garden City Funeral Home is assisting the family. Condolences and memories may be left for the family at www.missoulafuneralhomes.com


Read Rose Nei's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.