On July 12, 2013 our beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and grandmother, June Cecelia Shields Stafne, age 77, of Wolf Point, MT, went back to where the other angels came from.
She was born on June 8, 1936 to Fred Shields, Sr., and Francis Smith. She attended boarding schools in Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Kansas; graduating from Flandreau in 1954 and Haskell College in 1956.
In 1956, she was the Oil Celebration Princess and represented the Fort Peck Reservation at the Miss Indian America contest in Sheridan, WY. It was here that she caught the eye of her future husband, Rusty Stafne. Mom went to work at Browning, MT and Rusty went to Haskell for school. They corresponded through letters and after 3 attempts they were married on October 10, 1959. Due to the Indian Relocation Act, they moved to San Jose, CA where they made their home from January 1960 until 1968. This is where their 3 children were born. They then moved back to Wolf Point where they have resided since. Mom was a secretary, politician, and community health worker. Above all, she was an activist at heart; she was always working for the people. She also helped her husband establish their farming and ranch business, working side by side. Although times were tough at first, she never gave up. She always supported her husband in everything. June was always smiling and was a grandmother to many by blood or by choice.
June was a devout Catholic, but also a woman of many faiths. She believed in Christian ways as well as her Native American traditions coming from the Bad Temper Bear clan. Her grandfather Andrew Red Boy Shields was the last chief of the Fort Kipp community.
June is survived by her husband of 54 years, Rusty Stafne of Wolf Point; 3 children, Twilia (Vincent) Bear Cub, Tom Stafne, and Grant (Mary) Stafne all of Wolf Point; 15 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren.
A prayer service will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16 at the Blue Sky Ministries in Wolf Point. A funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 17 at the Blue Sky Ministries in Wolf Point. Interment will follow at the Stafne Family Cemetery, west of Wolf Point.
Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel of Wolf Point has been entrusted with the arrangements. Condolences can be sent to the family using the form below.