Heather Anne Swanson Monson
Heather Anne Swanson Monson, age 49, passed away Friday, January 26 th at Swedish Medical Center in Denver, CO from a severe AVM rupture.
Heather was born on March 22 nd , 1968 to Mick and Sharon Swanson in Baker, MT while her father was the Vo-Ag teacher in Plevna. She and her family moved back to the family ranch north of Hinsdale shortly after she turned three. She grew up there with her sister and brother where she enjoyed the many aspects of ranch life. Riding horses, working cattle, putting up hay and milking the cow!
Heather graduated from Hinsdale High School in 1986 at the top of her class. She went on to attend Eastern Montana College and there met many friends that would be special to her throughout her life. She worked at the Soda Fountain and First Citizens Bank in Billings. During this time she met her first husband Grant ‘Gus’ Sinclair. They were married on October 16 th , 1993. They celebrated the birth of their son, Boyd in December of ’94. They divorced after only three short years of marriage, but Gus continued to be an important part of her life.
She and her young son moved to Glasgow shortly after the divorce where she worked at CHMS. On August 22 nd , 1998, she married Kelly Monson. They had a small ceremony looking out over Fort Peck Lake, one of their favorite places. They lived in Glasgow for several years, her working at Earl’s Body Shop, Quick and Tastee, Glasgow Irrigation and most recently Sand Electric. She and Kelly bought a house with a few acres just outside of town where she was able to dip back into her farming background. She loved to talk about irrigating, haying and working on their haying equipment. She was really pretty handy with repairs and enjoyed the fact that she was usually able to figure out what was wrong with it!
Throughout her work experiences she made numerous friends. You couldn’t go out in public with her without stopping several times to chat with pretty much everyone around. She loved her pets, her one and only niece often referred to her as the crazy cat lady, and she was fine with that. She wasn’t just a cat person, but also a dog person. She loved the beagles that she and her husband had and was absolutely thrilled to become the adoptive family for a beautiful Chow, named Alice, who doesn’t really like anyone to touch her, except Heather.
Heather followed Boyd and his classmates and friends, as well as her nephews and niece through all of their many sports and other activities and supported them with enthusiasm and sometimes even coffee. She claimed many of Boyd’s friends as her own and treated them just as she did him, either with hugs or by chewing them out when they needed it.
The end of Heather’s life was the beginning for many. She was generous enough to be an organ donor and we are comforted by the fact that she will be helping so many families be able to enjoy their loved ones for many more years to come.
She is preceded in death by her father, Mick and her brother, Russell. She is survived by her beloved son Boyd Sinclair, his wife Courtnee and her first grandbaby who will join us in May of Glasgow. Her mother Sharon Swanson of Absarokee, her sister Heidi (Mark) Johnson of Hinsdale, nephews Brady, Lukas and Trey and her favorite niece, Mickayla, all of Hinsdale. Her husband, Kelly Monson (Glasgow) and nephews Dillon and Jacob Billman. Her many loving aunts, uncles and cousins and friends too numerous to mention.
There will be a short funeral service at 11:00 on Saturday, February 3 rd at the Hinsdale Lutheran Church with a luncheon to follow at the Legion Hall.