Julie Moore
On Jan. 23, 2018, Julie Moore our beautiful, musical, artistic, and kind Mom, sister, grandma, friend, and the love of Dad’s life, slipped away to join him. She tried to fight, but lost her battle with several health issues over the last few years.
She was born Julia Gwen Day on Oct. 11, 1944, in Valley City, N.D., the second of five children to Jim and Ethel Day. They moved to Billings, Mont., in 1945 after her Dad came back from the war, then on to Big Timber, Mont., in 1953 where she attended grade school. She participated in Intramural Track and boy could she run like the wind! In 1958 they moved to Bozeman, Mont., where she graduated from Bozeman Senior High in 1962.
That same summer, after they met at a dance, a handsome young cowboy named Willard, pulled up in a red convertible and swept her off her feet. They were married a few months later, on Julie’s birthday, Oct. 11, 1962, in Bozeman. They moved to his family’s homeplace, The Cinch Buckle Ranch, in Powderville, Mont., where they raised their two children, a daughter Kim and a son Will Jr. Julie kept everyone well fed; as well as acquiring some wonderful animal husbandry skills helping to raise many bum calves, lambs, puppies, a deer named Prancer and a few other stray animals that wandered in. Her youngest sister Jamee and brother Jimmy came to the ranch for extended stays, along with visits from the rest of the family.
She enjoyed visiting with neighbors, pitching in for the various potlucks, branding and shearing parties, card parties, and community dances. In the fall of 1978 they pulled up stakes and moved to their own ranch in Columbus, Mont. She worked a variety of jobs in Columbus over the years. She worked for her good friend Anna Lofing at the Line Drug Fountain, put in some time at the Stillwater Convalescent Center, waitressed at the Air Bowl Cafe, she joined a great working crew at Montana Silversmiths until she retired, and topped it off with a part-time stint at the IGA Deli.
In her spare time over the years she went to card parties, enjoyed bowling, painting and playing scrabble, mostly with her friend Anna, as they were practically unbeatable!
She was very involved with her kids and grandkids, even though she was a bit of a “Nervous Nellie” depending on the event. She also discovered karaoke after they moved to Columbus, and we discovered we had our very own Patsy Cline! She and Willard were seen on many a dance floor, cutting a rug over the years.
She always enjoyed some Christmas baking, with Norwegian Fattigmann Bakkels and peanut brittle being her specialities.
She was preceded in death by her parents Jim and Ethel Day, her husband Willard and brother-in-law Mike Figgins.
She is survived by her daughter Kim (Jerry) Kelley of Belgrade; son Willie (Shannon) Moore of Columbus and grandchildren Hank, Grace, and Ollie Moore of Columbus; sisters Clarnelle (Carl) Patterson of Arizona, Gale Figgins of Bozeman, Jamee (Evert) Wierda of Manhattan, and brother Jim (Patty) Day of Texas, several nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.
A Celebration of Life party for Mom and Dad will be held June 9, 2018, at the Woltermann Memorial Airport, in Columbus.
A Memorial fund has been set up at First Interstate Bank, if it’s on your heart to help with their final arrangements. Donations can be made payable to either: First Interstate Bank, Kim Kelley or Willie Moore with “Willard Moore Memorial Fund” on the memo line. You can go to any First Interstate Bank branch to do this or are welcome to mail it to: First Interstate Bank PO Box 29 Columbus, MT 59019 or Julie & Willard Moore PO Box 408 Columbus, MT 59019