Beth (Jeanne Elizabeth) Nelson Scanlan, age 84, passed away peacefully, but unexpectedly, at her home on Kerr Drive on September 20, 2010.<\/p>\n
Born on May 3, 1926, in Helena, Montana, Beth was the middle child of five children born to Ernest A. Nelson and Effie Mae McLeod Nelson.<\/p>\n
She attended Helena and East Helena public grade schools. After completing three years of high school in Helena, she graduated from high school in Thermopolis, Wyoming.<\/p>\n
Beth was a survivor who lived through childhood typhoid, the Great Depression, and the devastation of her beloved hometown Helena following the earthquake of October 1935. As a child during the Great Depression, Beth and her little sister, ages five and four, sold Montana Record Herald newspapers in front of the Placer Hotel. After the earthquake, her family moved to a farm in East Helena that had no electricity, hot water, or indoor plumbing. Beth often remarked she lived as the pioneers did for several years and felt she was a better person for having experienced that lifestyle. While on the farm, she mastered cooking and baking on a wood cook stove and helped with the daily chores, including plucking one hundred fifty chickens each week for the Broadwater Hotel restaurant and plowing the fields behind their horse, Knight.
After returning to Helena in 1944, Beth worked as a bookkeeper at Power Townsend Company. In 1953, she married A. James \u201cJim\u201d Scanlan. Between 1954 and 1966, Beth and Jim were blessed with four children\u2014Rick, Dave, Jeanne, and Joe. In 1972, after Jim\u2019s untimely death, Beth became the sole provider for her four children and started working at Mountain Bell Telephone Company. During this time, she also purchased the family home on Kerr Drive, and their home became the scene of many happy gatherings for friends and family. While at Mountain Bell, Beth advanced in her career from an administrative clerk to an administrative assistant in the construction office to the state construction manager, a position from which she retired in 1990. She was well-loved by all of the construction crew who worked for her.<\/p>\n
After her retirement from Mountain Bell, Beth was actively involved in the Mountain Bell Pioneers and Helena Heritage Soroptimist Club. She loved her years spent tying and hanging all of the bows for the Festival of Trees and tirelessly working estate sales for the Soroptimists. She also enjoyed traveling\u2014whether it was to see Europe or visit her four children and their families.<\/p>\n
Beth was preceded in death by her husband Jim Scanlan, her parents Ernest and Effie Mae Nelson, and her brother Lloyd Nelson. Survivors include Beth\u2019s daughter Jeanne Roske and her husband Joe and their children Eric and Erin (Enumclaw, WA) and Beth\u2019s three sons: Joe and his wife Sheila (Kent, WA); Dave and his wife Kathy and their children Jenna, Connor, and Kaitlyn (Renton, WA); and, Rick and his wife Barb and their children Aaron, Jack, Greg, Josh, Danielle, and Alexis (Fort Collins, CO). Beth has one great-granddaughter, Rachel. Beth is also survived by her sister Betty Jane Stromberg, her husband Walt, and their children Soni, Wally, and Jody; her sister Doris Buswell and her children Scott, Marcia, Anita, and Joyce; and, many great-nieces and great-nephews. No list of family would be complete without including Tom and Sharon Harris and Scott and Colleen Lindsay.<\/p>\n
Beth will be remembered for her hospitality, generosity, and wonderful sense of humor. She will always be loved by her family and friends and will be greatly missed.<\/p>\n
Family will be receiving friends Friday, September 24, 2010 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home from 4 -5:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m., Sat., Sept. 25, 2010 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Chapel.<\/p>\n
Burial will be held at Resurrection Cemetery following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Helena Heritage Soroptimist Club, P.O. Box 6467, Helena, MT 59604.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/251928_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}