Sheila Lavern Kemmer

Sheila Lavern Kemmer, 73, of Great Falls Montana, passed away December 27, 2018 at Peace Hospice in Great Falls after a courageous battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In her final weeks, she was embraced continuously by her loving family, friends, and Heavenly Father. Private services were held on Friday, December 28, 2018. Schnider Funeral Home handled the arrangements. Sheila was born on December 12, 1945 in Memphis, Tennessee and was raised in Marvell, Arkansas. Upon graduating from Marvell High School in 1963, she attended the University of Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg where she met and married Andrew Westling, and had a daughter, Andrea. Andrew and Sheila ultimately divorced. She later met Kenneth Ledford, and the two married and moved to Montana where they had 3 girls, twins Amy and Anna, and youngest child Amanda. Sheila eventually needed to set out on her own again, so she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Consumer Sciences from Montana State University in Bozeman. She then took a position at Power Schools as Librarian and Home Economics teacher where she worked for 12 years. When the twins graduated high school and moved to Great Falls for college, Sheila and Amanda followed to keep the family together. She then served as the Librarian at Great Falls High School for 2 years when she retired due to health issues which culminated in her ALS diagnosis in late 2017. Sheila’s hobbies included traveling, quilting, embroidering, and writing postcards. She was a wonderful, caring mother who loved making memories with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Sheila was a faithful member of Sovereign Grace Church of Great Falls for many years. Sheila is survived by her daughters, Andrea Westling, Amy (Ken) Williams, Anna (Trevor) Garlock, and Amanda (Sean) Murray; sister Lynn Kemmer; niece Laurel; and 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Leta Kemmer of Marvell, Arkansas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the ALS Foundation.