Nellie Lucht Kirn was born on June 8, 1919 in Saco, Montana to parents Henry and Ruby (Wickersham) Lucht. On May 19, 2011, while at Extended Care, Nellie slipped peacefully from this life with Karen and Blue by her side.
She was the fourth of five children, three older sisters and a younger brother. At the age of 10, she moved to Dunseith, North Dakota to live with her paternal Grandmother.
On November 20, 1935, Nellie was united in marriage to Gilbert Kirn in Poplar, Montana, where they made their home. They welcomed their first son, Albert, in 1936, their second son, Bob, in 1937 and their daughter, Karen, in 1946.
Always a hard worker, Nellie even tried her hand at running a coffee shop, where her specialty was homemade pies. During WWII, she was an overhead welder at a shipyard in Oregon. During her 40 years of employment, she settled into clerking at the local grocery store and finally at the Fort Peck Merc in Poplar.
Nellie enjoyed and participated in sports, including basketball, baseball, horseshoes and bowling. Her love of sports intensified as she watched her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren play in a variety of sports. She was always keeping score and cheering for them, win or lose.
Her many interests include cards, games, reading, sewing, quilting and baking. Her pies were a delicious treat that the entire family looked forward to at the holidays and special occasions.
She lived in Poplar until 1996 when she moved to Sidney to live with her daughter and son-in-law. She had her own apartment in their home complete with a kitchen for her baking and room for a quilt rack for hand quilting the star quilts that kept her busy.
In 2006, Nellie moved to the Crestwood Inn and enjoyed her time there. She got the ladies into a daily exercise program and liked to play bingo. In December 2008, she became a resident of Extended Care in Sidney, Montana.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Ruby; 3 sisters, Alice, Clara and Lilly; brother, Teddy; husband, Gilbert; 2 sons, Bob and Albert; daughter-in-law, Betty; 3 grandsons, Dana, Mike and Albert “Gooch”; and a great-great grandson, Cash.
Nellie’s legacy lives on as is shown by her survivors, daughter, Karen (Dave) Ruffatto, Sidney; daughter-in-law Audrey “Blue” (Gary) Kirn, Poplar; 8 grandchildren, Desiree (Bernard) Lambert of Brockton, Chris (Stan) Kirn of Dallas, TX, Curry (Lori) Kirn, Chad (Marcella) Kirn and Joleen Kirn all of Poplar, Brenda (Rory) Huff, Payson, AZ, Susie (Steve) Schagunn, Scobey, MT, and Diahn (Ray) Ruffatto of Sidney; 24 great grandchildren; 20 great-great grandchildren and 1 great-great-great grandchild.
Nellie’s funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 25 at the First Presbyterian Church in Poplar. Interment will follow at the Poplar City Cemetery in Poplar.
Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel of Wolf Point has been entrusted with the arrangements.