Elizabeth (Denny) Belgard, 97, passed away on Thursday, July 17, 2014, at the Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes. Wake services will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2014, and will continue until her funeral service which will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2014, all at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. Burial will follow in the Rocky Boy Cemetery. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. Please visit Elizabeth's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for the family at www.hollandbonine.com. Elizabeth was born on August 23, 1916, in Babb, Montana, to Alex and Louisa (Gardipee) Denny, the youngest of ten children. She was raised in Rocky Boy, which was created the year she was born, and attended Fort Hall Boarding School in Fort Hall, Idaho. She married Lois "Happy Jack" Belgard in Havre in 1936, and she and Happy Jack raised their son, together with two of their grandchildren whom they legally adopted and two of their grandchildren whom they didn't adopt in Rocky Boy. Elizabeth was a very social woman who loved to laugh. She enjoyed going to garage sales, and was a tremendously knowledgeable historian who was fluent in the Cree language. She passed on the old stories of her cultural heritage to her children and grandchildren, together with her sewing knowledge. She instilled faith in her descendants, as well as a good sense of humor and her desire for cleanliness. Elizabeth was a humble woman who took great pride in caring for her family. Her favorite soap opera was All My Children, and she watched it at every opportunity. Elizabeth was preceded in death by her husband Lois "Happy Jack" Belgard; her son Gilbert Belgard and an infant son; her adopted granddaughters Lavidia Louisa Belgarde and Yvette Belgarde; her daughter-in-law Darlene Belgarde; her parents Alex and Louisa Denny; and her nine siblings. She is survived by her adopted granddaughter Juanita Belgard of Great Falls; her ten grandchildren; her thirty-eight great-grandchildren; her fifteen great-great grandchildren; and her numerous beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family.
