Cole Seward

GLENDIVE, MONTANA: Cole Seward, age 84, passed away on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the Eastern Montana Veterans Home in Glendive. Visitation will be held from 1:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 and 9:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Interment with military honors will be held in the Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements Cole was born on February 25, 1926 in Ingomar, Montana the son of Robert and Edna (Whitney) Seward. He received his education in Ingomar. Cole joined the United States Army in 1944. During his service years Cole was stationed in the Philippines and Japan as a cook. He received the Pacific Service Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Japan), the Philippine Liberation Medal with one service star and a Victory Medal. After his honorable discharge from the military in 1946 Cole returned to Montana. Cole married Wanda Roney on December 26, 1947 in Glendive. During his early years Cole worked as a farmer. His work in the oil fields had him working on rigs in Wyoming, Baker, Montana and Alaska. He also worked for six summers at Intake near Glendive. Cole loved gardening, fishing and playing cards. He especially cherished the time that he spent with his granddaughters and his great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Vera Stuart and Evelyn Nansil; three brothers, William, Robert and Lynn Seward; one nephew, Bill Ellison and one great grandchild, Dustin Lane Weinreis. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Wanda of Glendive; one son, Roger (Sandy) Seward of Beach, North Dakota; one brother, Ivan Seward of Denver Colorado; one sister, Verna Ellison of Miles City, Montana; two granddaughters, Katrina (Shawn) Weinreis and Terisa Webber; two great grandchildren, Dani Dawn and Hunter Cole Weinreis and numerous nieces and nephews. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com Cole Seward Life Tribute Service Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home Glendive, Montana March 3, 2010 Welcome: Master of Ceremonies Introduction to candle lighting: Love’s flame may flicker, but it never dies. As we remember Cole Seward today, we will light a candle of remembrance to honor Cole. May the flame of this candle be a memorial to the life and love each of you shared with Cole, a symbol of life beyond life, and a reminder that Cole will be in your hearts today and always. The candleholder holding the candle is special to Cole’s family. It is one crafted by Cole from an agate he picked up on the Yellowstone River. Cole’s granddaughter, Katrina Weinreis, will light the candle. Katrina also has a few words to share with you about her grandfather. Candle lighting and speaker: Granddaughter Katrina Weinreis Song: “Danny Boy” Eulogy: Cole Seward was a quiet, private man who enjoyed a simple life filled with family, hard work, duty to our nation, and simple pleasures. Born and raised in Ingomar, Montana, Cole was the sixth of eight children, and the youngest of five boys. He grew up and received his education during the depression years and World War II, and when he was eighteen, he joined the United States Army. Cole’s time in the Army was served in the Philippines and in Occupied Japan, where he was trained as a cook, using his skills to cook for the officers where he was stationed. Cole received several medals for his service to our nation, and was honorably discharged in 1946. Cole returned to Montana, taking up residence in Colstrip, Montana where he operated a bar. It was during this time that a young lady, Wanda Roney, traveled from her home in Glendive to Colstrip to visit her twin sister. She met a handsome young man, named Cole Seward, and the two of them were married in Glendive the day after Christmas in 1947. Cole and Wanda began a life journey that lasted just over 62 years. That journey yielded much shared love, friendship, work, and play and a son, Roger. Cole did not stay with the bar business long, instead, he went to work on a ranch in the Colstrip area. While Cole and Wanda lived on the ranch, Cole saved half dollars in a large glass jar that he hid in the ranch’s root cellar. The day came when Cole and Wanda had the opportunity to purchase a 100 acre irrigated farm about six miles west of Forsyth, Montana, on the north side of the Yellowstone River. Cole intended to use his saved half dollars as the down payment. But the jar of money was not where he had put it. After looking around the root cellar, he discovered that a skunk or badger had tunneled and dug into the cellar, and the jar had been moved by the animal. After some hunting around the tunnels, Cole found his jar of half dollars and he used it as the down payment for the farm. Cole and his family moved to their newly acquired home and began farming. Cole raised small grains, had a few sheep, and two milk cows. Wanda recalls that one of the milk cows did not like women. The cow’s previous owner had told Cole this fact, but it was a good looking cow and Cole bought it anyway. Cole taught Wanda how to milk so she could help with the milking. Wanda found when Cole was gone and she did the milking alone, this particular cow would hold her milk and Wanda just could not get any from her. After the cow had a calf, Wanda figured out that if she had the calf suck from one side of the cow, she could milk the other side and get at least enough milk for the day. One of the funniest memories Wanda has of the farm life was of Cole gathering eggs. They raised chickens on the farm and the chickens would lay their eggs on top of the haystacks. Cole went out one day to gather the eggs when Wanda heard him yelling. She went out to see what all the fuss was about. Cole had climbed to the top of the haystack to get the eggs, and had gotten his leg tangled up in some rope. Wanda found him hanging by one leg, upside down on the haystack, hanging onto the egg basket, yelling for help. Wanda had to quit laughing before she could help him get down. After about eight years on their farm, times just got too tough, and Cole and the family moved to Ingomar. Cole’s parents now owned and operated the restaurant and bar called the Jersey Lily in Ingomar, and Cole and Wanda lived in Ingomar and worked at the Jersey Lily. After a short time, the family moved to Glendive, where Cole went to work in the oilfields in the area. A couple years were spent in Baker, Montana, and then the company Cole worked for took on some government work drilling in the Pinedale, Wyoming area. Cole also spent a year working in Alaska. Other jobs Cole worked at here in Glendive included being a janitor, or “swamper” as Cole termed himself, for Harry Mehr at the Lazy H bar. When the I-94 bridges were put in over the Yellowstone River, Cole worked on those, and he was a plumbers’ helper during the construction of the hospital. For six summers, he and Wanda worked out at Intake at the fishing access site. Finally, he and Wanda opened a salvage yard at their home here in Glendive. Cole spent many hours in the salvage yard cleaning metal to sell. Roger had signs made for his father to advertise the business, but Cole wouldn’t use them. Instead, he would run a classified ad in the paper saying that he would buy scrap metal, furs, and hides. He and Wanda kept very busy with their business. Over the years, Cole worked many jobs in many places. He saw different parts of the world and could tell stories about all those places. But it was his home and family that were important. The jobs just helped him to support them. When Cole wasn’t working, he might watch the news on television, and Wanda says they went to church on TV. But for the most part, Cole liked to keep his hands busy. He always had large vegetable gardens that he loved to work in. Cole and Wanda enjoyed fishing the river for catfish and pike, and fish was always a favorite to eat. The family spent hours hunting eatable wild mushrooms along the river and in the Pine Unit area. Cole loved to eat mushrooms. Cole always liked to cook, and having cooked in the army and at the Jersey Lily, he was very skilled at cooking. He loved beans and ham, and he had a special spicy chili he that he would cook up and eat. He even did dishes, lots of them. But he did not do any baking. Roger has fond memories of hunting birds and deer with his father while he was growing up. Cole always processed his own game. Another memory that Roger has is that his father taught him to drive. And it was left to Roger to wash the family car. One day, after getting the car washed, Roger decided to drive it around the block and re-park the car. As he was driving, he played with the car a bit, and got it fishtailing. Cole had some diesel fuel in the trunk and it spilled and diesel fuel ran onto the floorboards of the back seat, about an inch deep. When Cole got into the car, he could smell the fuel and Roger got into a bit of trouble that time. But for the most part, Wanda says Cole didn’t have much of a temper. A hobby Cole loved was agate hunting on the Yellowstone River, and working with the polishing tumbler he had at home. Cole would get the agates cut and after he had them polished he would use rosin and make lampshades, candleholders, napkin holders and other things. Some of the work Cole created is displayed. The agate bolo tie and agate ring Cole is wearing today are agates he picked and tumbled. A family member set the stones for Cole. Cole created many beautiful and useful items from his agates. Growing up, Cole and his parents and siblings often played cards, and throughout life, Cole always loved a good game of pinochle. Cole always had animals around and he loved them. Growing up he had a pet cat that lived for 20 years. On the farm by Forsyth, he and Wanda had three tame rabbits that Cole had given names to. Funny thing was, that the one Cole named “Jasper” is the one that had the baby bunnies. Cole also had horses during his childhood. But when he went into the Army, there was no one to care for them and he let them go wild. After he returned home, he never felt he could afford to have horses again because it was so costly to feed them. But he and Wanda continued to have house pets over the years. After the grandchildren and then the great-grandchildren came along, Cole especially enjoyed his time with them. When Cole was in his sixties, he began to experience some health problems. He had several surgeries. Cole resided in the Eastern Montana Veterans Home prior to his death. His family knew these past weeks that Cole’s health was deteriorating quickly. Cole died on his 84th birthday, February 25, 2010, at the Eastern Montana Veterans Home. As we honor and pay tribute to Cole Seward, let us keep these words close: “Remember him in your heart, in your thoughts, and may the memories of the times you loved and the memories of the times you shared bring you comfort. For if you always think of him, he will have never gone.” Please listen to a song selected by Wanda that she and Cole enjoyed. Song: “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” Closing: Celebrant There are many views about the hope that waits for us in life beyond life, but there is one undeniable and ever present hope we all can share. That is the hope found in memories. As family and friends of Cole’s, we are touched by sadness, and as we consider Cole’s life, we are filled with memories both happy and sad. That Cole has lived, what Cole has experienced can never be taken from him or from us. For this we are grateful, for aren’t we better off for having had Cole in our lives? Wanda, after 62 years of marriage, the long life you and Cole shared together holds many memories. May those memories keep you company during the lonely times. To Wanda, Roger, and all of Cole’s family “death ends a life but not a relationship.” Cole will always be your husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother. He is a part of you always. He will be greatly missed. Spend a few minutes with your own memories of Cole as we listen to the song “Precious Memories”. Song: “Precious Memories”

Cole Seward

February 25, 1926 - March 3, 2010

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Cole Seward

February 25, 1926 - March 3, 2010

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

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