Pat Gervais Obituary passed away Thursday, July 21, 2011 in Helena. <\/p>\n
Patricia Therese Birgen was born September 11, 1957 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Clare Birgen and Ruth (Jennings) Birgen. She lived on the family farm near Worthing, South Dakota until her graduation from college. Pat attended Cottage Grove country school through the fifth grade. Sixth through twelfth grades were completed at Canton Public School. She graduated from Canton High School in 1975. Pat attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accounting in 1979. <\/p>\n
Following graduation, Pat moved to Casper, Wyoming where she was employed as an accountant. She worked in various finance and accounting positions in Cody, Rawlins,
Cheyenne and Sheridan, Wyoming. Pat moved to Helena in 1990 and began her career with the State of Montana. At the time of her death, she was employed as a Senior Fiscal Analyst in the Legislative Fiscal Division. <\/p>\n
Pat met Dan Gervais in Cody, Wyoming in 1990. Dan went to Cody to buy a horse, he met his future wife\u2026.and he bought a horse. On October 19, 1991, Pat and Dan were united in marriage at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church and made their home in Helena. <\/p>\n
Pat loved animals, especially horses. In 1983 she pursued her childhood interest in horses and began taking riding lessons. This was the beginning of her involvement in the horse show world. Pat was a member of the Vigilante Appaloosa Horse Club. She served on the Board of Directors of the Montana State Horse Association and the Board of Directors of the Yellowstone Reining Horse Association. She also served as secretary of the WYO-MONT Appaloosa Club, Big Wyoming Appaloosa Club, and the Montana State Appaloosa Club. <\/p>\n
Pat proved to be an accomplished horsewoman earning Rookie of the Year in 2009 from Cowboy States Reining Horse Association. Other awards include WYO-MONT High Point Amateur, BWAHC High Point Non Pro Showmanship, and 1987 BWAHC Rookie of the Year. Pat graduated \u2018Green Reiner\u2019 in one year from the Montana Reining Horse Association. <\/p>\n
Pat was not only interested in the science of horsemanship, but pursued many aspects of equitation including Dressage, Driving, Reining, Showmanship, and Western Pleasure. She had a love of Appaloosas but an appreciation of all breeds. She received a special joy from watching youth bloom into accomplished equestrians. <\/p>\n
Pat practiced her faith as a member of SS Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in East Helena. She had a deep devotion to Mary the Mother of God and attempted to follow Mary\u2019s advice \u201cDo whatever Jesus tells you.\u201d <\/p>\n
Pat possessed a bright intellect, competitive spirit and great sense of humor. She was a great friend and co-worker. She was humble and caring. She will be missed by her husband Dan, her family and countless friends. <\/p>\n
Pat is survived by her husband, Daniel Gervais of Helena, Montana; one brother, Greg Birgen (Mary) Pflugerville, Texas and five sisters: Barbara Willis (Ken) of Westminster, Colorado; Mary Bliss of Mankato, Minnesota; Nancy Birgen of Hutchinson, Kansas;
Marcy Reese (Will) of Quinlan, Texas; and Carol Birgen (Mike Sprenger) of Presho, South Dakota, ten nieces and nephews; and twelve great nieces and nephews. <\/p>\n
She is preceded in death by her parents Clare Birgen (September 28, 1986) and Ruth Birgen (January 22, 1988) and grandparents: Caroline (Determan) Birgen, Michael Birgen, Grace (McIlvanne) Jennings and William Jennings. Pat shared a special relation ship with her mother-in-law, Rose Gervais, who also preceded her in death. <\/p>\n
Visitation will begin at 1:30 p.m. today at the funeral home. The family will begin receiving friends at 6:30 p.m. with a Vigil service to be held at 7:30 p.m. today, July 24th at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be 1:00 p.m. Monday, July 25th at SS. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church East Helena. Fr. Tom O\u2019Donnell will officiate. Pall bearers are Richard Bachmeier, Gerald Daumiller, Wally Johnston, Cameron Meissner, Thomas Murphy and Mike Sprenger. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Cancer Treatment Center, C\/O St. Peter\u2019s Hospital, 2475 Broadway Street Helena, Montana 59601. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/419621_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\/891","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=891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}