Mary E. Crisafulli

GLENDIVE, MONTANA; Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli, 84, of Glendive, passed away on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at the Glendive Medical Center in Glendive, after a long battle with Emphysema. Visitation will be from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive. Private family services will be held in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating, Interment will be in the Dawson County Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive is entrusted with arrangements. Mary was born September 11, 1924, the daughter of John J. and Ila M. (Alexander) Scharff, at the Mercy Hospital in Williston, North Dakota, where her grandparents lived. Mary was raised and educated in Glendive, where she lived her entire life. She married Frank L. Crisafulli on October 31, 1941. They lived in Glendive and raised three children, Frank Jr., Dick and Mary Kay. Mary loved animals and was active in Maco Sica Riders Club and on the ranch where they raised registered Angus cattle. She worked in the family businesses: ranching and farming, The Trading Center, Crisafulli Pump Company, and later as a partner with Angelo Crisafulli at Crisafulli A&M. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Democratic Women's Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary and the Glendive Elks Lodge #1324 Does. She enjoyed reading and taking care of her pets. In her earlier years she enjoyed hunting and fishing. Her legacy included hunting bear, elk and deer. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Frank in 1974, and one sister, Zella. Survivors include: two sons, Frank Jr. (Arlene) Crisafulli, Dick (Nancy) Crisafulli and one daughter, Mary Kay (Gary) Badley, all of Glendive, nine grandchildren; Lisa (Bob) Brinkman, Nicole Crisafulli , Amber Crisafulli, Tom (Amanda) Jones, Brandie Crisafulli, Michael Crisafulli, Richie (Jamie) Crisafulli, Brooke (Herb) Giles and Bryan Badley, ten great-grandchildren, Lilly, Ayla, Ayana, Isaac, Jack, Catherine, Jameson, Nelson, Basil and Giarratana, one brother, John B. (Kay) Scharff of Spokane, Washington, one sister, Francis (Jack) Darfler of Helena, Montana. Memorials are suggested to the Frontier Gateway Museum, Glendive, MT 59330 or the charity of choice. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com. Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli Committal Service Dawson County Cemetery, Glendive Montana October 16, 2008 Celebrant: It is an important day when we stop to bear witness to a person’s life and times among us, the difference her living and dying made among family and community and to take time to express our grief, our hope, our wonder and our memories. Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli brings to rest all her little nameless acts of kindness and love. That love and kindness, the example she set by the way she lived her life, and the accomplishments she achieved in her 84 years of living, will remain alive in the hearts of the generations of all who knew and loved her. Because we place Mary here today, this ground becomes sacred to all whose lives she touched. It is here many will come to feel the presence and love shared in life. Some will come often. Others may come only on rare occasions; all who come will be blessed. Let us hallow this ground with the following words as they seem to hold especially true for Mary: To have lived well, laughed often and loved much To have gained the respect of intelligent people and the love of children To have filled a niche and accomplished a task To have left the world better and to have appreciated earth’s beauty and not failed to express it To have looked for the best in others and to have given the best of yourself That is achievement. And Mary Crisafulli achieved all these things and more. You probably have all heard the expression “pennies from heaven”. As Mary’s family leaves her today, they will place pennies with Mary for Mary to take with her to heaven. The pennies represent the thoughts, love, hugs and kisses that her family wants to send with her from them. As Mary’s family goes about the busyness of their lives, when they unexpectedly find a penny in an unexpected place, they will know that Mary is thinking of them and sending her love, hugs and kisses to them. As we say a final farewell to Mary, let us leave in thanksgiving, not regret, for Mary’s life was full while she was among us. Touched though you are with sadness, as we consider Mary’s life we are filled with memories, happy and sad. That Mary has lived, what Mary has experienced can never be taken from her or from you. For this, be grateful. May Mary’s memory remain in you and bless your going out and coming in from this day forth. Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli, may you rest in peace. Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli Life Tribute Service Silvernale-Silha Funeral Chapel, Glendive, Montana October 16, 2008 Welcome: Master of Ceremonies Celebrant: Thoughts from Mary’s grandson, Richie Crisafulli I wanted to say something today, but I didn’t think I could stand up in front of you and get through it. My Grandma Mary has been a big part of my life as far back as I can remember and as I think back, many of my fondest memories growing up involve her and time spent at her house. I spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house. From the family get-togethers to the everyday lunches, her house was the gathering point for many of us. I grew up down there and my own children have been lucky enough to have those same experiences. Everyone loves going to grandma’s and who wouldn’t with an endless supply of candy and kittens, and even a swimming pool! My grandma did it all. When she was actively involved in the business, her main responsibility may have been office work, but she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She would help with any tasks, often while dressed in her nicest dress clothes. And we always knew we could get lunch at Grandma’s house. She always found time to make a full lunch for anyone who stopped, even when she was working full time. For years I spent every week day lunch at Grandma’s and sandwiches were rarely on the menu. She made a full meal-from roasts to turkey dinners- for her working family. It was all delicious, except maybe the salmon loaf! She was always disappointed if someone had to miss a meal there, as family time was the highlight of her day. And there are memories of Grandma’s huge yard. She took care of a lot of it with help from us for many years. I can remember her riding the lawnmower with her pants rolled up over her knees. As she got older, more of the tasks of taking care of the yard were taken on by her family members. She always insisted the grandkids wear a stupid red fire helmet when, just in case an apple fell out of the tree and hit them on their heads. The great grandkids are still required to wear that hat! Many of us were lucky enough to go to las Vegas with Grandma, which she loved. It was quite a sight to see her in her snazziest clothes and jewelry, playing five slot machines at one time, while eyeing the machine across the aisle, making sure it wasn’t paying better than her machines were. She could stay up later than nay of us in Vegas. My memories of Grandma are plentiful and I am grateful for each and every one of them. However, there is one thing about Grandma that I will always hold dearest. Grandma’s focus was always family. We were always first, and we knew it. She was the center of our family, and we were the center of her world. Please listen now to one of the songs the family has selected for today, “Shall We Gather at the River?” Song: “Shall We Gather at the River?” Eulogy: Celebrant Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli. What an example she set with her 84 years of living. Mary was a loving and devoted wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her intelligence, strong personality, and caring nature made her the center of her family, and a valuable part of the Crisafulli family businesses. Together, Mary and her husband, Frank Sr., worked very hard contributing to and helping build the family businesses that were known virtually everywhere. With her children, Frank Jr., Dick, and Mary Kay, all living in the Glendive area, Mary was able to be a mainstay in the lives of her children as they have grown and had families of their own. Mary enjoyed a very close relationship with not just her children, but also with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and they with her. All of this began on Halloween in 1941 when Frank Crisafulli Sr. and Mary Scharff eloped and became life partners. From then on, as Mary’s brother, John Scharff, commented, you never thought of Mary with out also thinking of Frank Sr. and vice versa. For 33 years, they worked together, played together, raised their family together, enjoyed friends together, shared many common interests and experiences together. After Frank Sr.’s death in 1974, Mary continued this legacy. During the early years, the Crisafulli family had the largest truck farm in Montana. Mary worked right alongside Frank on the farm and would drive the truck to area grocers delivering potatoes grown on the farm. She helped freeze and can the corn grown for the Farmer Boy label. Some of the produce was sold in the family grocery store located on the southside of Glendive. Chickens and eggs were also part of the business. Mary’s children remember when their father came home with a few chickens he had gotten a good deal on…two thousand of them. After everyone helped to butcher and freeze those hens, Mary made many, many meals of chicken. But Mary enjoyed cooking and also cooked for the hired men. There were always extra people at the dinner table. When you stopped at Mary’s house, at the very least, you received coffee, and more often than not, you were sat at the kitchen table and fed something. At the Trading Center, Crisafulli Pump and later at Crisafulli A and M , Mary could do whatever needed to be done; loading railroad ties, threading pipe, buying merchandise for the Trading Center to sell, and making deals. Mary also worked in the office. She knew every facet of the business and could handle any part of the work involved. Her brother John recalls buying Sherwin Williams paint from Mary at the Trade Center for a home he was building. This brought to mind that Sherwin Williams paint company officially recognized Mary for being a leader in selling their paint. John admired his older sister, and thought she was very smart. And she was always a lady. At home, Mary was loving and generous, putting the needs of everyone ahead of her own. Mary and her kitchen table were the headquarters for food, conversations, advice, laughter, and when not in the office, business. Even when not in the office of the family businesses, Mary would read the area newspapers want ads and plan and make deals from the kitchen table. Mary’ mother, Ila, had asthma, and in Ila’s later years, Ila came to stay in Mary’s home, so Mary could care for her mother. When Ila needed more care and went into the nursing home, Mary would bring Ila home for meals or a week-end visit. Daughter Mary Kay and her mother shared much laughter over the years, and enjoyed each others company. They also shared a love of horses and riding. The horse Mary was the proudest of was a registered quarter horse named Mary Skeeter. Mary belonged to a riding club called the Maco Sica Riders. The club would get together on Sundays, and play riding games and hold riding competitions. It was a club for all ages, and the whole family could participate. Mary rode horses until she was 82. But it wasn’t just horses that Mary loved, she just loved animals. Growing up as a girl, Mary had a pet coyote. She always had a pet dog, and cats were present throughout her life. Mary especially loved watching the deer come through the yard and would stop conversations to point them out to everyone as the deer would stop to eat her apples. She was delighted by the pheasant and turkeys that regularly wandered through the yard, and she enjoyed watching the birds at the birdfeeder. The Dawson County Cemetery will be a very appropriate final resting place for Mary…it has a number of resident deer and birds. As much as Mary enjoyed watching deer, she also enjoyed hunting them. Mary loved to big game hunt…antelope, deer, elk and bear. Mary and the family would process the wild game, canning much of the meat. Once a game warden stopped in and was checking on all the game they had gotten. He didn’t believe Frank Sr. should have had as much as he did. Frank Sr. explained that some of the tags were Mary’s. Yes, the game warden could see that, but he still did not believe that Mary had filled her own tags, she couldn’t be that good of a shot. Mary took the game warden outside for a shooting contest at targets, and proceeded to outshoot the game warden with his own gun. Frank Jr. went bear hunting with Mary one time. They went out in the early morning when it was still dark. Frank remembers being out in the trees and shrubs and waiting for the morning light and the bears to come through. Sitting in the dark, listening to the various noises and things moving about, Frank Jr. wasn’t sure who was hunting who. Frank Jr. didn’t much care for the bear hunt. But there wasn’t much that intimidated Mary, in any aspect of life. Something that did make Mary uncomfortable was taking a vehicle out to check the horses. Dick would drive to the edge of the hill. From there you could see for quite a ways, but Mary did not like the feeling of being on the edge, hanging in space. Mary also loved fishing. The family would go to western Montana and trout fish. Invariably, Mary would catch the biggest fish. Part of the joy of the hunting and fishing was being outdoors. Mary loved to work and recreate outside. Her yard was about two acres and Mary enjoyed doing all the mowing. A favorite outing for Mary was to go out into the pasture and hunt for crocuses and wild asparagus. Frank Sr. and Mary were very social. They had several married couples they were good friends with and they would all take trips together to the beaches in Hawaii and Mexico. Another favorite destination of Mary’s was Las Vegas. Mary was an avid slot machine player. After Frank Sr. died, Mary still made many visits to Vegas with other members of her family. She also enjoyed making trips to the casino in Newtown, North Dakota to play. When her brother John and his wife, Kay, or her sister, Francis, and her husband, Jack, would come to visit, they would all make the trip to Newtown for some fun. One trip while in Vegas, Mary suffered a heart attack. Frank Jr. went to Vegas to bring Mary home. Mary had a couple of checks that she wanted to cash before leaving Vegas, but Frank said they would take care of that when they got back to Glendive. When they returned, Mary gave him the checks to take care of and he was surprised to see how substantial they were. Mary was always a winner! One of the things that happened to her in Vegas that Mary was quite proud of was the acquisition of a gold mesh bracelet. A guy was on a corner trying to sell the bracelet for some gambling money. Mary had seen jewelry while in the Trading Center, and knew a bit about it. She made what she felt was a good deal with the man for his bracelet. Mary brought it home and had it sized to fit her. When it was appraised, she was told it was worth quite a bit of money and from the markings was made in France. Mary was pleased to have done such a stroke of good business. Mary enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, and reading, especially about history, Montana history in particular. Something that would bother Mary was if she noticed that a family member did not have on an undershirt. Mary thought to be properly dressed, you should wear an undershirt, and she would let you know that. Mary considered her appearance important and she always took care to dress well and look the best that she could. She was proud that she had all her own teeth her whole life. And having her driver’s license was very important to Mary. Frank Jr. and Mary Kay tell of the last couple of times when Mary needed to renew her license. They each took her once, and no matter how ill she was feeling, when they drove her to the licensing office, she would bound out of the car and head in, looking as spry as could be. She was thrilled to pass the eye exam and have the license renewed. Even though she didn’t drive anymore, she still had her car, and she could still legally go out and drive it. Her driver’s license was always current throughout her lifetime. One of Mary’s favorite things to do was to have conservations, food, and laughter around her kitchen table with her family. Her sister, Francis, says they could talk for hours. One evening on a visit, Francis and Mary turned on the weather channel and listened to it, talked and laughed from 7 o’clock that evening until one in the morning, and thought it was just the best channel they had ever listened to. Mary truly enjoyed her family and enjoyed her life. Mary was a smoker. And even with her emphysema and oxygen, Mary enjoyed her cigarettes. Mary’s family wishes she hadn’t liked those cigarettes quite so much after seeing her suffer from the effects of smoking, but it was something that was difficult for Mary to give up. On October 12, 2008 Mary lost her battle with emphysema, and her family, her friends, and our community lost Mary. Mary is remembered with love today as a woman whose family and their well-being was most important. She is remembered with gratitude for her caring and generous ways. She is remembered and respected as a dedicated, hardworking, and intelligent businesswoman. Mary is remembered as a good friend who knew how to enjoy all life had to offer. Mary touched many lives and she will live on in the hearts of those who remember. May you each spend the next few moments with your special memories of Mary as we listen to the song “How Great Thou Art” chosen by Mary family for today’s service. Song; “How Great Thou Art” 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, and Mary has left you with a wealth of memories. Frank, Dick, Mary Kay and all of Mary’s extended family, Mary was a presence in your lives, a strong, loving, unfailing presence. Although you will miss her greatly, how proud you must be to call this wonderful lady your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and in-law. Her legacy to you is of a life well lived, a life well loved. As your friends and community, we too mourn the loss of Mary. We grieve with you and we grieve for you. The stories Mary’s life created will keep her memory and her presence alive long into future generations. Let us close our life tribute service for Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli with this thought: “The true measure of a person is not what she acquires in her lifetime, but what she leaves behind.” What Mary Elizabeth Crisafulli left behind can be found in the heart of each person she touched with her life. Thank you Mary for touching our lives. Thank you all for being here for this important time. Our closing song will be “Amazing Grace” Song: “Amazing Grace”

Mary E. Crisafulli

September 11, 1924 - October 12, 2008

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Mary E. Crisafulli

September 11, 1924 - October 12, 2008

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support