- From the "Missoulian"
Tuesday February 13, 2007.
Polson--Lois Arline Hubbard passed away peacefully Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, at Community Medical Center in Missoula. Although she had a rare form of lung discease for many years, she had only been hospitalized briefly when she succumbed to unrelated complications.
Lois was born to Horace W. and Edith Lang Judson in Great Falls on Dec. 20, 1923. They lived in Browning for a year and then moved to Cut Bank where her dad was the county attorney for many years.
Lois had one sister, Dorothy May.
The Judson family rented a small house across the street from the courthouse which Lois learned much later was $20 a month. Her mother played the piano for silent movies in the early 20s when music emphasized the silent movie scenes. Her little girls would go with her on occasion and Dorothy would read the captions to Lois.
Louis remembered her Girl Scout years and a special time when President Hoover's wife who promoted the girl scouts came to Great Falls to herald their 25th anniversary (They have now observed over 90 years). Mrs. Hoover had a limousine and offered rides to a few girls to go on a sightseeing trip. Lois was chosen and was thrilled to have a ride with Mrs. Hoover, even getting her autograph.
High school summers she worked at a soda fountain when milk shakes were 15 cents. Lois attended Cut Bank schools graduating as valedictorian of her senior class in 1941.
Having carried a scholarship to Montana State University in Missoula (now the University of Montana) she enrolled that fall and was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority. In the freshman women's dormitory, she was an officer, knew everyone in the dorm and made an effort to know everyone on the campus. Women out numbered men there
since Pearl Harbor. One of her dorm friends was Katherine "Kay" Hubbard from Polson who said she thought Lois would like her upperclassmen brother: Cal. They eventualy did meet, dated every major ball, and she did indeed like him. A year later on Jan 9, 1943, they were married in the Cut Bank Presbyterian Church.
Cal and Lois lived in an apartment in Missoula while Cal finished his senior year and graduated as pharmacist (RPH) which he remained for 50 years. Cal was the well known respected owner on Hubbard's Pharmacy in downtown Polson, which his father had started in 1933.
Cal was called to the infantry school at Fort Benning, Ga. for officer's training in August 1943. Wives were allowed to live in nearby Columbus and see their husbands most weekends. Lois worked in a bank there for $66 a month stipend. Lois also accompanied Cal to his first assignment as a sceond lieutenant to Camp Shelby, Miss.
There she and her friends became blood donors which Lois did for many years after the war until her health prevented it.
When Cal was sent overseas to the European Theater, Lois went to live with her parents in Cut Bank and there she gave birth to a boy, Calvin Judson. The hospital bill was $9 a day for 10 days; the doctor bill was $35. She was active serving at the USO and Blue Star Wives Club. One of their activities was seeing that every home had a blue star in the window if someone from that home was in the service. They also made cookies and candy for servicemen on the trains passing through Cut Bank as well as for the airmen stationed at the nearby airbase. Lois' dad was in the Civil Air Defense there.
When Cal came home he saw his 1-year-old son for the first time. The new family came to Polson and Cal started working in his Dad's drugstore. They had a Baby Boomer, Duncan, and moved into a little house. When they had another Baby boomer son, Kirk, they bought a larger house and had fun remodeling and painting it. Lois was a Cub
Scout den mother for many little boys.
She took her own boys to Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church and taught small children's groups for 16 years. Later she was an active leader of adult classes and worked in the women's fellowship groups and studies for countless years. Lois was an active, lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church serving in many capacities including deacon. She was editor of the church's monthly newsletter, writing all the articles, printing on a mimeograph and preparing the paper for mailing. At one time she updated the church library using the Dewey Decimal System she had previously learned.
She also led Bible classes in the nursing home for years. Home visitations were a special part of her church life.
One of the highlights of Lois life was drawing the plans for their four bedroom home on a hill east of town and watching its progress during months of construction. All of the residents of the hill's area met at the Hubbard home to think of a better name than Cemetery Road for the locale. It was in 1956 that they chose the name of Hillcrest Drive, which it remains today. Soon a fourth son, Timothy, was born. There were many children on Hillcrest by then and a school bus route was establshed.
A fun time for Cal and Lois was being part of a five-couple Supper Club for 40 years. Another high point of Lois' life was when they bought a boat and a lot on Wild Horse Island, where they built and furnished a cabin in 1972. The entire extended family, now numbering 27 has enjoyed that haven every summer since.
Cal and Lois took their young boys on trips every summer, visitng historic places in Monana and then eventually visiting every state in the continenitial United States. She took advantage of having a captive audience and read about points of interest to them as they rode along. After the boys were grown Cal and Lois went on oversears tours to 10 countries as well as Alaska and Hawaii.
Lois had several hobbies over the years; she did ceramics, rug making, crewel embroidery, knitting and special counted cross-stitch pieces for family members. Lois made a photo album/scrapbook for each of her boys when they married. In turn, they all made a book of photos for their parents' 60th wedding anniversary.
Lois said as a very young child that she wanted to be a "lady with a baby." She was happiest being a homemaker. Her favorite season was winter in all its glory.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and her beloved sister Dorothy MacCarter. Dorothy was well-known in the area because she had twin boys and triplet boys. Lois was proud in recent years of being a great-great-aunt to her late sister's great-grandchildren.
Survivors are her sons Calvin J. (Chris) of Tennessee and their children Brian and Erin, Duncan (Kathleen) of Missoula and children Andrew and Benjamin and stepchildren Jackie, Brennan and Carson, Kirk (Anne) of Polson, and Timothy (Gayle) of Los Angeles and their children Sombreuil, Calvin R. and Arrow, nephews Doug MacCarter (Mary Lynn) of Phoenix, Don MacCarter (Jane) of Livingston, Dean MacCarter (Monica) of Denver; Daryl MacCarter (Karen) of Boise, David MacCarter of Denver and Ken Malgren (Carmilia) of Boise; niece Christine Malgren of Polson; and five great-grandchildren.
Services will hold at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb 15, at the First Presbyterian Church in Polson.
Memorials may be made to Feed the Children, an affiliate of the American Bible Society, P.O. Box 9, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-0009.
The family wishes to thank the staff at the St. Joseph Retirement Community in Polson and Community Medical Center in Missoula for their caring attention to Lois.
Arrangements are by Grogan Funeral Home & Crematory of Polson.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.gorganfuneralhome.com.
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1923 - 2007 (83 years)
