Rochelle Marie Malone

Rochelle Malone, 89, died peacefully on August 31 at her home in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Rochelle was born to parents David and Marie (Lopez) Foss on November 24, 1936 in San Jose, California. At the age of two she moved with her family to the Bitterroot Valley, where her father had been born and raised. She began her schooling at the one-room Sleeping Child School, and later attended Jefferson, Corvallis, and Hamilton High Schools.Rochelle married William D. “Bill” Malone on New Years’ Eve, 1954. They moved to Spokane, where their two sons were born. They returned to Montana a few years later -- first to Missoula, where they added a daughter to their family, then to Hamilton in 1968. They purchased 10 acres on Grantsdale Road where they raised cows, chickens, hay and corn along with their three children.

In the 1980s, Rochelle purchased Tom’s News on 2nd Street in Hamilton and operated it for a number of years. When Tom’s News closed, Rochelle and the famous popcorn machine moved around the corner and joined the crew at Robin’s Hallmark.

Rochelle was an active member of the First Christian Church in Hamilton for over 30 years, serving numerous roles.

In 2005, Rochelle and Bill moved to Missoula to be closer to their grandchildren, and Rochelle faithfully attended every baseball game, play, and band concert while still finding time to volunteer at St. Patrick Hospital. After her husband’s death Rochelle lived near her son in Glasgow, Montana for several years where she enjoyed attending plays and volunteering at the Fort Peck Summer Theater. Eventually, she had enough of winter and joined her daughter’s family in Arizona.

Rochelle was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bill, and brothers Dave and Trounson Foss. She is survived by her children: Ed (Sheila) of Glasgow, Scott (Jill) of Red Lodge, and Roxanna (David) of Arizona; grandchildren Dan, Chris, Brian, Jacque, Shelby, Thomas, Andrew, Matthew, and Jasmine; eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 26, 2026 at the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton, with interment at Riverview Cemetery. A reception will follow at Daly-Leach.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to The Hamilton Players, Ravalli County Habitat for Humanity, or the Bitterroot Humane Association.