Frances Viriginia (Ackerman) Curdy

FRANCES VIRGINIA (ACKERMAN) CURDY

Our loved mom surrounded by her family passed away Friday, May 19, 2017 at Marcus Daly Hospice.

Frances Virginia (Ackerman) Curdy was born January 14, 1922 in Park Rapids, Minnesota.  She was the middle child of five born to Dierk (Dick) and Estie (Gant) Ackerman. As a young child, Frances would help her dad during the summers assemble farm machinery (McCormick/Deering) and help her grandfather build stone buildings at ltaska State Park. During her high school years she worked at Northern Pines Resort. She attended Deer River, Wadena and Park Rapids schools graduating in 1940. Later she worked at Concordia College in St. Paul, MN. and after World War II broke out her parents, grandparents and younger brother moved to Everett, WA. to work in  the defense plants. Frances later moved along with her sister, Mary to Washington and was hired as a "ship fitters helper" building floating dry docks.    Frances also worked for Weyerhaeuser paper as a shift chemist.  While attending a swing shift dance with friends she met the love of her life, Everett Curdy, US Navy from Bozeman, Mt.

Everett and Frances were married on December 7, 1945 at Park Rapids, Minnesota. Everett was discharged from the Navy and they left Minnesota and returned to Belgrade, Montana where they bought a farm.  In April 1948 they sold it and moved to the Bitterroot Valley.  In November 1948 they bought a dairy farm northeast of Corvallis and milked cows and raised chickens from 1948-1975. In the early days of farming Frances could be seen on a tractor cutting and baling hay.   She worked along with Everett to help pay for their farm and machinery. She also milked cows and sold eggs to various restaurants and individuals in Missoula each Tuesday. She did pay for that 1960 Dodge Dart station wagon with a great deal of hard work and many cases of eggs. They moved into Corvallis in 1975 where they retired, raised a large garden, and spent several winters in Arizona. In their retirement, Frances and Everett developed a love for riding motorcycles.  They could be seen riding their Honda 90 bikes around Corvallis and during their snowbird trips to Arizona. Also in retirement Frances decided to restore her 1950 Ferguson tractor. She was very proud of it and drove it in the Corvallis American Legion Memorial Parade and Ravalli County Fair Parade for several years.

Frances was active in gardening, quilting, Golden Age, American Legion Auxiliary, LWML, Tired Iron Club, Corvallis Civic Club, Bitterroot Good Sams, Sapphire Lutheran Homes, Grace Lutheran Church and she was a volunteer at the Daly Mansion. The American Legion Auxiliary was a very special organization to Frances. She joined when she was a junior at 12 years of age and has been an active member until her death.

Frances is survived by children: Willis (Gloria), Mary and Philip (Linda); grandchildren, Nick, Butch (Peggy), Rachel (Rick), T.J., Kyla (Konstantin), Corwin (Spencer); great grandchildren, Jordan (Kris), Haley, Niko, Josh, Rachel; great grandchild, Gabriel.  Frances was very close to friends Bill and Gladys Lulloff of Willow Creek for many years. 

Frances is survived by sisters, Edith (Mel) Noeske, Mary Warble, Ione (Glen) Winger and brother, Lewis (Francene) Ackerman; sister-in-law, Ruth McGinnis, and many nieces and nephews. Preceding Frances in death: her parents, husband Everett, son-in­ law Tony Rodriguez, and brother, Russell Ackerman.

The family would like to thank The Remington and Marcus Daly Hospice for the wonderful care of our mom.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 25, 2017 at the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton.

Services will be held at Grace Lutheran Church on Friday, May 26, 2017 at 1 p.m. with burial at the Corvallis Cemetery and a reception following at the fellowship hall at Grace Lutheran Church.

Memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran Church or a charity of the donor’s choice.