On Friday, September 18th, 2020 Connie Jean Young was called home to join her father, brother & the Lord.
Connie was born January 15th, 1971 in Poplar, MT to Margaret Red Thunder and Rudolph “Wixie” Young. Connie attended Wolf Point Elementary Schools & then moved onto Poplar Schools where she graduated in 1990. Before heading off to college at MSU Northern, Connie & Robert “Paul” Lee had Heather D. Lee. In 1993 she married Mike C. Leinen I & from this union they had Michael C. Leinen II and Aniston M. Sampson. Later on, she would have her baby boy, Lance G. Sampson. Connie was genuinely a kind person, always willing to lend a helping hand and was known to try and teach people about forgiveness. She was a jack of all trades, from working as an insurance saleswoman, laborer for construction, flagger, teachers aid, etc. She was very proud of everything she did. She loved her Shania Twain & Conway Twitty, always joking around to call her Shania Young or Connie Twain. She made a big impact on those who loved her, from picking out all the red M&M’s out of your bag to jamming out in the car to country – stopping in the middle of the road just to dance. Her favorites things to do was going out on the dance floor, playing pool & darts, writing small poems & having family movie nights with a big bowl of popcorn. She loved spending time with her grandkids, telling them about family or cooking for them. She absolutely loved horses & going out on wagon trails. Her stubbornness & drive was what go her to get things done. Throughout her life she would love to tell stories about growing up with her brother Eric & all the things they would get into, or how Grandpa Wixie would teach her a lesson every time she did something or how he went to the junkyard & put 3 bikes together just so she could cruise around with her brother. She loved fishing because it would remind her of them. She was a loving mother, grandma, sister, aunt, cousin & friend. She will be very missed.
Connie is survived by her four children: Heather Lee, Micheal Leinen II, Aniston (Patrick) Sampson & Lance Sampson. Her four grandchildren: Jayda, Liahna, Emma & Blake Sutherland. Her sisters Sheryl (Clifford) Berger, Shelly (Mike) Sears, & Judy (Jr) Strauser. Her brothers Jeff (Connie) Strauser, Ross (Laura) Strauser & Marty (Tina) Strauser. Aunts Naomi Montclair, Velma Nepstad, Juanita (Doug) Youngman, Olivia Buckles, Karla Red Thunder, Delores Kirn, & Mary Ann Richardson. Special nieces Lisa Strauser & Lana Berger. Cousins Angie Buckles & Sheila Strauser. Favorite sister-in-law Brandy Smith. Family friends Cathy Murray & Mike Lafloe & numerous other cousins, nieces, nephews
Connie is preceded in death by both parents; brothers Roger Strauser, William “Jr” Strauser, Glenn Strauser & Eric Red Bull. Cousins Denise Red Thunder & Leah Strauser. Aunt Florene Williams. Uncles Calvin Red Thunder, John Red Thunder & Darrell Red Thunder. Grandparents Seth & Ione Red Thunder.