Patricia Hope Witt Torgerson

An informal memorial

gathering will be held in

Spokane, WA, on Satur-

day, April 30th, 2022,

from 4:30 to 7:30 at the

Hamblen Park Presbyteri-

an Church (4102 S. Crest-

line). The funeral service

will be held on Saturday,

August 20, 2022, at Pella

Lutheran Church (418 W.

Main) in Sidney, Mon-

tana, with a short grave-

side service to follow at

the Lambert Community

Cemetery under the care

of Fulkerson Stevenson

Funeral Home of Sidney,

MT. The reception at

Lambert’s Fox Lake Com-

munity Center (200 W.

Main) will start at noon.

Remembrances, con-

dolences and pictures

may be shared with the

family at www.fulkersons.

com.

Patricia Hope Witt

Torgerson was born to

Ethel and Peter Witt on

July 8, 1938, in Minot,

North Dakota. She gra-

duated in 1956 and at-

tended Minot State Col-

lege, receiving her teach-

ing certificate. She moved

to Sidney, Montana, for

her first teaching job,

where she met and mar-

ried Ken Torgerson of

Lambert, Montana. Pat

taught in both the Sidney

and Lambert School Dis-

tricts for a total of 40

years. She retired from

Lambert in 2002 after hav-

ing taught three different

grade levels: first, second,

and sixth. She loved

teaching. Pat was active in

the local Lambert com-

munity, in her church

community, and in farm

politics through her ac-

tivities in Women In-

volved in Farm Econom-

ics (WIFE). For communi-

ty projects, she was in-

volved in Lambert’s Fox

Lake Community Center,

the Lambert Historical So-

ciety that runs both the

Museum and its store, the

Lambert Park, the annual

Farmers Union Harvest

Dinners, various school

events, and events for

Lambert’s 4th of July cele-

brations. She was a

member of the First Luth-

eran Church, where, in

addition to regular church

activities, such as being a

Sunday School teacher or

organizing and leading

Vacation Bible School in

the summers, she made

over a hundred quilts

(often with her

sister-in-law Ardys Tor-

gerson) to be given to

World Vision or to other

mission groups. Pat also

made several hundred

dresses for “Dresses for

Africa.”

Pat was an active

member of WIFE for over

40 years, roughly from

1977 to 2018. In addition

to being involved at the

local level, she was the

President for the Montana

State WIFE organization

from 2004-2006 and the

WIFE lobbyist in Helena,

Montana, for two years.

She also wrote the

column “Transportation

Report” for the National

WIFE newsletter WIFEline

from 2012 to 2015. In Oc-

tober 1977, she spear-

headed a WIFE Ethanol

Convoy from Lewistown,

Montana, to Washington,

D.C., with farmers from

Montana, North Dakota,

Nebraska and other farm-

ing states joining the con-

voy in route. The convoy

participants met with and

lobbied the various Sena-

tors and Representatives

on Capitol Hill from the

50 states. To make this vi-

sion happen, Pat and Ken

built a still on the farm to

distill the ethanol, which

required them to “bond”

the family farm as in-

surance that they were

not making alcohol for

illegal distribution. For a

dozen years, she organ-

ized the WIFE fundraiser

that involved creating a

calendar with selected art-

work on agricultural-re-

lated themes from chil-

dren throughout the state.

Thanks to this particular

WIFE project, she worked

with hundreds of teach-

ers, children, families,

and businesses through-

out Montana.

Early in retirement, she

got involved with the Na-

tional Park Service’s

Trails & Rails Amtrak pro-

ject. On the Amtrak train

from Williston, North

Dakota, to Shelby, Monta-

na, dressed up as Mrs.

William Clark, Pat would

regale the train passengers

with stories of “her hus-

band” and his partner

Meriwether Lewis on their

famous 8000-mile expedi-

tion west. She would in-

clude historical facts

about Sacagawea, York,

and Seaman the New-

foundland dog. Later in

retirement, she convinced

Ken they needed “an

adventure” in the sun-

shine of Arizona. They

wintered in the Spring-

field Community in

Chandler, Arizona, for ten

winters.

Pat had many hobbies.

She loved her horses and

trail rides. She loved

camping, boating, water-

skiing. She loved books,

puzzles, movies, and

theater. She loved an-

tiques, especially family

antiques. She loved cats

and kittens. She loved

playing cards and Rummi-

kub. She loved hearing

and telling jokes. She

loved to connect with all

people from whatever

background. She loved to

laugh. She loved her

grandkids.

Pat Torgerson died on

Friday, April 1, 2022, in

their Spokane condo, with

seven members of her lov-

ing family present.

Several friends were also

there to help her make

this transition. Pat is pre-

ceded in death by her fa-

ther and mother, Peter

and Ethel Witt, and by her

sister Joyce Hendrickson

(Vern). Family members

who survive her include

her sister Shirley Witt,

her husband Ken, her

daughter Beth (Bob

Steinauer), her son Lewis

(Teresa), and four

grandchildren: Grant (Em-

ily), Randi, Kendra, and

Nicole.

In lieu of flowers,

please consider donating

in Pat’s honor to

Lambert’s Fox Lake Com-

munity Center or to the

Lambert Historical So-

ciety (addresses for both:

200 W. Main, Lambert,

MT 59243), or to UNICEF

(online at https://www.

unicef.usa.org or 125

Maiden Lane, New York,

NY 10038).