Berta Lee, 87, left this world on Valentine’s Day at her home in Santa Maria, CA, to rejoin her husband Malcolm “Corky” J. Macdonald, Sr.
Berta Lee was born May 12, 1929 at 10:25 pm, the first of 3 children at the old hospital in Poplar MT to Gladys and Leo Combs. She lived 8 miles up Poplar Creek in a little house near two small ponds. Her dad ran the Combs Dairy and had 14 head of Holstein cows. In the fall of 1936 Leo moved his barn and the cook “shack” from the Frye headquarters to the site two miles east of Poplar where Berta Lee would spend the rest of her growing up years. Throughout her youth she helped her dad run the dairy. She knew everyone in town because she helped deliver milk to almost every house. She graduated from Poplar High School in 1948 and then left to attend Montana State University Nursing School in Bozeman, MT. After returning home she worked in Poplar for a while and then she moved to Santa Fe NM. She and Corky were married at the First Presbyterian church in Santa Fe on May 3, 1952. Corky joined the United States Army in the fall of 1952 and would serve until 1954 in Germany. Berta Lee moved home to Poplar living in a small trailer at her folk’s place. She was expecting her first child. She stayed in Poplar and worked as a staff nurse at Poplar Community Hospital until Corky returned from the military and then moved with him to Wiota where his mother and he had land. For the next 17 years the couple would farm and ranch at Wiota welcoming 3 more children. Berta Lee also worked at Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point, AVCO Economic Services located at Glasgow Air Force Base, and for Head Start with the Fort Peck Indian Reservation during this time. In 1968 she went to Northern Montana State College in Havre MT becoming a Registered Nurse.
It was becoming obvious that the small family ranch could not expand big enough or fast enough to survive. So in 1970 the family moved to Provo Utah. They had $ 1200 and all of their belongings in a stock truck, station wagon and a pick-up. Berta Lee and Corky both started at Brigham Young University that fall. Berta Lee worked as a RN at the student health center and became a Nurse Practitioner. After graduation work took them to southern California. Berta Lee found work at a migrant field worker clinic in Brawley, CA and operated a satellite clinic in Winterhaven, CA (1974-1980). She went on to help open and work at a new community health center serving the five Indian Reservations of San Diego County (1980).
The Denver, CO years found her working at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center (1981-1982), ComCare, a certified Medicare Home Health Agency (1982-1983), and as a Nursing Education Specialist for the Post-graduate Institute for Medicine (1983-1984). In June of 1984 Berta Lee experienced a surgical accident during a routine gallbladder operation. She lost all but 2 feet of her small intestine leaving her with short bowel syndrome. Her prognosis at the time was only 3-5 years. That was 33 years ago. 1988 took them back to “paradise”, southern California with sunshine and no snow. In 1989 she was appointed Clan Donald genealogist for Southern California (1989 – 1992). In 1996 Corky retired and they moved to Santa Maria, CA. Berta Lee conceptualized and started the Central Coast Supper Club (1996-2000). Needing a new project Berta Lee contacted Bonnie Red Elk with the Wotanin Wowapi newspaper and from January 2003 to January 2004 she had two columns the “Poplar Trees” and “Berta Lee’s Bookshelf” about genealogy and Montana history. She also had a website and newsletter titled “Hoqua”.
In April 2010, she had a stroke while doing yard work. This was the beginning of her “I lost my mind” phase. October of 2010 she started dialysis. She had 1 weak kidney since childhood and the other finally gave out. Still physically active she hated being tied to the “chair” 3 times a week. She said “this is not fair, I was supposed to die of a heart attack” She died peacefully at home in Santa Maria CA with her children at her side. She is survived by her children, Doug and Dee live in Ayres Natural Bridge Park, WY, Ann’et and Al of Reno, NV, and Wendy of Santa Maria CA. She has six grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband “Corky”, her parents Gladys and Leo, sister Idell and brother Max. Her oldest son Malcolm Jr., known as Mac, died at the age of 39 from Leukemia.