Elizabeth
Edith "Bette" (Wolchesky) Kline, 85, of Shelby, a retired cook and waitress,
died of natural causes Sunday at a Great Falls hospital. Visitation is 1
to 8 p.m. today at Whitted Funeral Chapel in Shelby. Her funeral is 2 p.m.
Thursday at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, with burial in Mountain View Cemetery.
Survivors include daughters Melody (A.G.) Casey of Eureka, Lorraine (Jim)
Seymour of Cut Bank, Karen Croney of Tulsa, Okla., Charlotte (Ronnie) Erickson
of Belt, Janet (John) Reeder of Lubbock, Texas, and HarolynAnkrum of Ulm; 14
grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. Two of Bette's grandchildren,
Pat Kline and Jason Kline, were especially close to her and often saw to her
everyday needs after her husband, Harold, passed away.
Bette was born Oct. 15, 1921, in Danzig, N.D., to Charles and Lydia Wolchesky.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Montana, where she met and
married Harold Kline in Conrad on Dec. 4, 1944. They lived and farmed in Galata
for a few years before moving to Shelby.
Bette especially enjoyed her work as a cook and waitress until she retired at
the age of 73. Up until her death, she would often recall many of the people she
waited on and served and tell stories of what "rascals" they were. Those people
gave her a lot of enjoyment.
After her retirement, Bette became involved in many activities, including Royal
Neighbors of America, VFW Women's Auxiliary, St. Luke's Lutheran Church,
quilting and many more too numerous to mention.
At home, Bette enjoyed crotcheting, embroidery, reading, watching her game shows
and making sure Jason kept out of trouble. One of her main enjoyments was
talking about how proud she was of all of her daughters, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, and how much she loved each and every one of them.
The family would like to thank all of Bette's special friends who also meant the
world to her. Although there are too many to mention, the family would like to
especially mention Ruth Pettigrew and Jeannie Eaton. Bette was preceded in
death by her husband, Harold Kline, and three brothers, Bill, Leo and George.
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