Verna Trowbridge

DARBY - Verna Trowbridge, 95, of Darby passed away at the Discovery Care Centre on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. She was born July 25, 1913 in Junction, Idaho to Artimus Crusoe and Loretta Pritchett. Those were incredibly tough years and in September of 1922 the family left Agency Creek, ID for Washington State to try and find work. Traveling by horse and wagon was slow. They got as far as Missoula, MT when winter set in. Artimus left his family to settle while he tried to find some work. They had been there for several weeks when Grandma Loretta got sick from drinking contaminated well water and passed away with typhoid. The following spring Mom and two of her younger brothers, Fred and Tommy where taken back to Agency Creek. She became their caregiver at 9 1/2 years old. For the next four years the three lonely children where mostly on their own. They rode horse back four miles to Tendoy School. Four years later they were placed in an orphanage.
Tendoy School is where mom first met dad, Kenneth Trowbridge. He left school at an early age when the teacher killed his pet mouse. Having a mouse in school was more than the teacher could stand. Mom and dads paths crossed again when Mom was hired from the orphanage to help the Trowbridge family. That summer Dad fell for Mom but was seeing another gal at the time. He asked my Mom to borrow five dollars so he could get married. "Who are you marrying?" asked mom, "you," answered my dad. He always joked Mom stayed married to him for fifty four years to get her five dollars back. The marriage turned out to be a very prolific one. They had us seven kids.
Our mom was as colorful and varied as the flowers she grew and the wonderful oil paintings she created. The tulips she planted years ago still grace the front of the old family home in Darby. She is leaving a wealth of local history with the scrapbooks and her photo albums. Riding with the Saddle Tramps was one of her greatest pleasures. In later years she took great pleasure making crocheted rugs for her friends and family. Never mind mom that they don't lay flat because we will always cherish them.
She is preceded in death by our dad Kenny in 1989; three brothers, Ernie, Fred and Tommy; and her great-grandson, Kamen Morton. Surviving are her brother Roy Pritchett and wife Joyce of Rayseford, MT; four daughters and three sons. All of us kids have come home to roost. Jenny and Orland Sabo, Sally and Gerry Hazuka, and Ted and Betty Trowbridge all reside in Hamilton; Montana and Keith Fisher, Ned and Jackie Trowbridge, Dennis and Kelly Trowbridge and Loretta and Al Ortiz all of Darby. She is also survived by 18 grandchildren and numerous great and great-great-grandchildren. Verna also leaves behind a multitude of friends. The family would like to extend their gratitude to all her friends and caregivers at the Discovery Care Centre where she resided for the past 7 years.