Marion Fasching

Marion Fasching, of Billings, and formerly of Wibaux, passed away quietly of natural causes in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 24, 2005, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, with her loving family at her side. She was 91, and every single one of those years saw a good life lived. A vigil service will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Wibaux on Thursday, July 28, at 7 p.m., with Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at St. Peter’s on Friday, July 29, at 10 a.m., with Father Joseph Ponessa officiating. Rite of committal to be held immediately following at the Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Wibaux has been entrusted with arrangements. Marion was born in Webster, S.D., on Jan. 25, 1913, into a family that would eventually surround her with four brothers and four sisters. Marion’s parents, Tom and Anna Wosepka, farmed near Golva, N.D., where she grew up. The stories Marion would tell her children, grandchildren and even some great-grandchildren about her own days of growing up made the farm seem like a place where nothing was done that had anything to do with work, yet just the opposite seemed true when there was a Thanksgiving or any other holiday to run or a community event to organize. Bert (Albert) began to court Marion while he apprenticed with his father as a barber in Sentinel Butte, N.D., where she was attending high school. For two years, he was able to keep her eye while they attended all night dances at Bullion Hall on the Little Missouri, keeping warm in their buggy by wrapping up in blankets heated by bricks warmed over a fire (or so they both would tell us). They were married on Aug. 18, 1936, and had two children, Marlene and Dale. In 1941, they moved from Sentinel Butte to Wibaux. The house came too, but the jury’s still out on whose decision that was. Shortly after the move, they had a second son, LeRoy. Marion graduated from Dickinson State and began her career by traveling to rural schools via bobsled and horses, setting the mark for what would end up being a 25-year career teaching the Wibaux second grade everything they needed to know. But her involvement in the community didn’t end there. Among the groups in which she would actively participate were the Altar Society, Garden Club, Nursing Home Auxiliary, and the Catholic Daughters (of which she was a charter member). "Digging in" would be one way to describe the way she showed her devotion to her neighbors, church and community, a fierce sense of responsibility to those around her seemingly guiding everything that she did. But then again, the farm seemed to live in Marion, and she in it. Her garden was always a point of pride and a popular place to find her kids eating tomatoes off the vine, salt shaker in hand. Marion’s union to Bert lasted 66 years until his passing in October of 2002. She is also preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, three sisters and her youngest son, LeRoy. Marion stopped humming the day LeRoy was killed in Vietnam. We are all so happy to know that she is humming again. She is survived by her two remaining children, Marlene (Tom) Agnew and Dale (Linda) Fasching, all of Billings; one brother, Edward Wosepka of Arizona; and one sister, Dorothy Farmer of Colorado. The blessings we have received in being a part of Marion’s legacy will no doubt continue to be discovered the rest of our lives. She carried herself with a strength and faith that never wavered. What a gift she has given us all.

Marion Fasching

July 29, 2005

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Marion Fasching

July 29, 2005

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

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