Marie Artz

Marie (Kaiser) Artz, 94, of Augusta, a ranch wife, died on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at a Great Falls hospital of natural causes.A vigil service will be held at St. Matthias Catholic Church in Augusta, Montana on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.Her funeral liturgy will also be held at St. Matthias Catholic Church in Augusta, Montana on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.Inurnment will follow in Augusta Cemetery, with a reception following at the church.Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements.Marie was born in Hoven, South Dakota on March 25, 1918 to Michael Jessie and Barbara (Dreis) Kaiser.She attended school in Hoven and worked for various homes doing general housework as well as working for the local creamery.Marie enjoyed cooking and sewing and was a perfectionist at both.She filled in at whatever job needed to be done on the ranch and always with a willing attitude.She was a very loving and devoted mother and grandmother with loads of generosity.Marie moved to Montana to work as a cook for the Ellis ranch in Choteau and attended to and helped with various ranch duties.On November 15, 1938, she married Norbert Artz.After marriage, they continued working and managing the ranch in Choteau until moving to Augusta in 1945 to manage the Elk Creek ranch where they ran the operation for 38 years until retirement.Marie is survived by her daughter, Barbara (John) Krause of Augusta; son Richard Dick (Shirley) Artz of Augusta; sister Agnes Weisgram Rader of Pierre, SD; and two grandsons, Shawn and Justin of Augusta.She was preceded in death by her husband, Norbert Bert Artz; her parents; brothers William, Alfred and Elroy; and sisters, Gertrude and Jeanette.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to donors choice.Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.schniderfuneralhome.com.