Joyce I. Stude

Wibaux, Montana: Joyce Irene Stude, age 78, of Medora, North Dakota, passed away on Sunday, September 16, 2012 at the Wibaux County Nursing Home in Wibaux. Graveside services will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 20, 2012 at the Medora Cemetery in Medora with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Beach, North Dakota has been entrusted with the arrangements. Joyce was born on April 28, 1934 in Killdeer, North Dakota, a daughter of Vernon A. and June I. (Sahr) Scott. She began her education on the Fort Berthold Reservation in the VanHook and Sanish area. After a time, they moved to Warner, North Dakota and then north of Killdeer where she received much of her education. In 1947 Joyce and her family moved north of Medora where she attended the Goldsberry School. Joyce spent her entire life growing up and living in the badlands and along the Little Missouri River from north of the Killdeer mountains to south of Medora. On November 3, 1951, Joyce married Albert Stude in Wibaux and to this union one daughter was born, Sheila Marie. Joyce was a cowgirl and rancher her entire life. She was an outdoors person, and enjoyed hunting and fishing. One of her favorite things in life was to hunt and trap which she and her husband enjoyed doing together. Joyce also liked old cars as well as basketball. Joyce and Al both liked attending rodeos, horse sales and horse racing. Everyone stated that Joyce was a fabulous cook, even though she didn’t like being indoors or cooking. She never followed a recipe so when someone wanted her recipe you wouldn’t get a written one. The main reason their marriage lasted for over 61 years was because they did everything together even if one of them, sometimes, wasn’t as fond about something as the other one. Joyce’s granddaughter and great-grandson were everything to her. She loved spending time with them and talking to them. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents; Vernon and June Scott. Joyce is survived by her husband, Albert Stude of Medora; one daughter, Sheila Marie (Tim Irish) of Medora; one granddaughter, Sonya O’Brien of Bowman, North Dakota; one great-grandson, Brett Obritsch of Dickinson, North Dakota; one brother, Arvid Scott and his wife Mary Ann of Williston, North Dakota; one sister, Ariann Scott of St. Louis Park, Minnesota and numerous nieces and nephews and her special friend, her dog Maisy. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com. “Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not here, I do not sleep.” The spirit of Joyce Stude, the essence of this good woman, is out there in the beautiful hills of these badlands, enjoying the sun on her bare arms and the wind in her face. Astride a beloved horse with the saddle as a throne, her spirit is tending to the animals and doing chores, smiling as she thinks about the next rodeo or horse sale, and looking forward to spring and branding time. A ranch kid who became a ranch wife, Joyce stood proudly with her husband, Al, as an equal in the ranching business. Hard work, animals and her family were her joy; living a life that suited her to a “T” was her reward. Joyce’s formal education ended at ninth grade, but her life lessons made her an expert in many areas. She could pick a good horse by looking at one, and through her love of horse sales and from reading horse and western publications, Joyce could tell you the bloodlines of many horses around the country. An avid rodeo fan, she could expound on the history and statistics of bulls and their riders much the same as a football fanatic can tell you about his favorite team and quarterback. Once a shy, young newlywed, Joyce learned to talk for hours about what interested her, and she and Al would try to outtalk each other, relating the stories of their life together with pride and humor to friends and neighbors. Al, who is several years older than Joyce, had been a bachelor for a time before he and Joyce began seeing each other. One day he suggested that they go into Wibaux and get married; Joyce agreed and they found the judge at his regular job in the barbershop. The judge had a customer in the chair for a cut or shave, but left the guy sitting while he left to marry Joyce and Al. After the ceremony, Joyce and Al went home to be “shivareed” by friends and neighbors for four days, which included food, music and drink. This was the start of a 60 year marriage that was a study in love, friendship, partnership, work, home and family. Both Joyce and Al had strong opinions, but honesty, communication and respect were always present. A good sense of humor was also required. Friends of the couple, Wendell and Linda Biggen observed that when Al would say blue, Joyce would say yellow, and a spirited discussion would follow that could be quite fun to listen to. Basically, Joyce just loved to give Al “crap!” If you saw Al or Joyce the other was not far away, they did everything together. Except for a few trips to the Denver Stock show or Canada, every night found them in their own bed. They worked hard just to maintain a simple life. Their own ranch was not large, and their home was modest. They were always proud of what they did, whether it was working for others or for themselves. Joyce would be up at 4 in the morning just to scrub floors, do household tasks, and get food ready for the day. She was a very organized and efficient worker. Joyce was a great hostess and loved having people around whether it was to visit a bit or for a longer stay. But if there were chores or riding to be done, she was not going to be left at home. She could fence, brand and tend to stock as good as any man. Joyce was fearless around animals and would go where men would not when it came to handling ornry cattle or horses. In their ranching operation, she and Al were the first to breed charolais cattle with black baldies. They were also the first in North Dakota to breed Australian shepherd dogs. Both lived for the horses. As a ranch couple they were all about taking care of the animals. Joyce grew up hunting and trapping and thoroughly enjoyed these activities. She especially loved to lead hunting parties out for big game adventures, and had quite a collection of mounted animals and horns. Only a year ago, Joyce’s granddaughter, Sonya, drew an elk tag and Joyce took her out and found her an elk. Joyce also raised birds; she always had peacocks. People who would visit, especially kids, loved to collect the peacock feathers. Often, Joyce also had bourbon red turkeys. One Easter, the Biggens recall when Joyce and Al wanted to repay a favor the Biggens had done for them by giving them a turkey for their Easter dinner. When Al left the house to get the turkey, the Biggens thought he was going to get one out of a freezer. No, he walked down to the river and brought back a freshly shot wild turkey. Joyce had that turkey plucked grocery store clean in 15 minutes. Joyce was very good around the kitchen. For a bride who couldn’t boil water, she became a very good cook. Never using a recipe, she cooked by taste. Granddaughter Sonya loved her potato salad, which Joyce took to all the area brandings, and the squash, and pumpkin pie. Joyce baked many pies, and she had cream for everything. The Biggen’s favorite dish was Joyce’s fried carrots. Joyce always had a garden, and enjoyed both vegetables and flowers. Holidays at the Stude’s was not about gift giving but more about family getting together and enjoying special meals and conversations. Joyce was always making everything good for her family, seeing to both their needs and their wants. Joyce and Al enjoyed their life’s work but they enjoyed other things too. They were very social and loved having company or going places where large groups of people gathered to work and play, and to visit and share stories, such as horse sales, auctions, rodeos, brandings, and dances. Joyce and Al had a bit of a supper club with their friends and neighbors, George and Irene Wolf. For birthdays and anniversaries they would drive over to Wibaux for supper and as George puts it…would tell the same stories and laugh just as loudly at the same jokes each time they went. George and Irene loved listening to Al and Joyce share their adventures in ranching and marriage. They were good company and good neighbors. They refer to Joyce as a “pioneer woman” because of her deep satisfaction and contentment as a rancher and with Al. They admired that she was truly happy with her simple life and did not seem to want or need more than what she had. Joyce and Al loved to follow the activities of their granddaughter, Sonya, and later their great grandson, Brett. Joyce was very proud of them and Sonya’s words were gold to her grandmother. Sonya and Joyce were especially close. Joyce loved to fish as does Brett and when he would come to visit, down to the river they would go. She loved hearing about his activities and sharing his story with her friends. She was very proud of her family. Sheila says her mother had one wish in life and that was to never go a day without a horse and a dog, and Joyce’s wish came true, she was never without a horse and dog. How fortunate Joyce was to have lived here in this area with its western heritage, and how fortunate for this area to claim this strong, unique and good woman as one of its own. She was a woman who loved her life and all the people and animals in it; she loved the outdoors and valued the cowboy way. Joyce Stude will be greatly missed.

Joyce I. Stude

April 28, 1934 - September 20, 2012

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Joyce I. Stude

April 28, 1934 - September 20, 2012

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

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Grief & Healing

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