Alberta Lucille Mcfarland Horan

Alberta L. McFarland Horan, 100, passed away on Monday, July 2, 2018 in Washington where she was living with her family. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 14, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. Alberta was born on May 17, 1918 on a farm northwest of Lowry, Montana to Thomas and Sarah (Burdick) McFarland. This was the former post office and commissary of Floweree Land Co., northwest of Simms. She boarded out with a family in Simms for the first five years of school, moving to Great Falls in 1928. She attended Emerson School, the junior high school on Central Ave and 14th St and entered the new high school in 1932, graduating in 1936. She spent the last months of 7th and 8th grade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before returning to Great Falls to start high school. She attended Great Falls Commercial College before going to work as a legal secretary for George G. Harris for seven years. She left the work force during her child rearing years and returned back to the work force in 1955 at various insurance agencies in Livingston. She returned to Great Falls upon her husband’s death with his last gift to her, a daughter born one year before his death. She raised her daughter as a single parent. She married Joseph J. Horan on July 6, 1941. He passed away on October 2, 1965. After his death, Alberta went to work as a bond supervisor for Sogard General Agency. When Sogard was sold to Traveler’s Insurance in 1969, she took a position with the personal lines department of Flynn Insurance Agency, retiring in 1984. She worked part time for Randall Knowles as an assistant until recently. Alberta was a past member of Insurance Women, the Great Falls Senior Center, and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church where she served with the Altar Society, chorus and was a Lector. She enjoyed playing cards, working crossword puzzles, reading and traveling to her father’s birthplace, Ireland. As well as, visiting Germany, Rome, the Pompeii ruins, and Austria while on visits to her daughter and family in Germany. She loved working on computers and spending time with her family and friends. She is survived by her daughters, Joyce (Jerry) Keller of Puyallup, WA, Rosanne “Jean” Morrow of Tacoma, WA, and Patricia (Clayton) White of Mandan, ND; 9 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great granddaughter; and several nieces and nephews. One nephew, Thomas L. McFarland and a great-niece worked with her to create a family history website using all the old photos in her possession, which has been an ongoing project. Alberta was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph; daughter Janis; parents Thomas and Sara; brothers Thomas and Eugene; and sister Eileen aka Sharon. Memorials in Alberta’s name may be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School; the Great Falls Senior Center; or the Great Falls Rescue Mission.