- Howard Skillingberg
HOMESTEAD ~ Memorial services for Howard Skillingberg will be held at 10:00AM Saturday,
September 6, 2008. Pastor Johnette Grefe will officiate at the service at the Medicine Lake Lutheran
Church; interment of cremated remains will be in Big Lake Cemetery, east of Homestead. Howard
died early Friday morning, August 29, 2008 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Reno, Nevada.
Howard was the first child born to Halver and Ethel Skillingberg. He was born in Homestead on
May 30, 1923. He was baptized and confirmed in the First Lutheran Church of Homestead. He
attended grade school at Homestead & graduated in 1941 from Medicine Lake High School.
Howard went on to attend college at MSU in Bozeman. He entered U.S. Navy in 1945 and served
aboard the battleship the USS Iowa in the Pacific theater, discharged in 1946 returning to farm with
his father . He married June Jensen in her home town of Froid September 1, 1948; they made their
home in Froid for a year, then moved to the farm just east of Homestead. Howard enjoyed high
school sports and never missed a tournament that the Medicine Lake Honkers were in .
He loved playing cards and there was no slack given to anyone, no matter their age. Howard
loved farming and despised weeds. One of the highlights of his retirement years was riding in the
Centennial Cattle Drive of 89' with his son Jason. After that he developed an interest in the
restoration of old wagons eventually getting his own covered wagon. He attended many trail rides
throughout Montana.
Howard and June loved to go antiquing. They loved to dance and Howard was described as very smooth on the dance floor. They were
committed to their grandchildren never missing an event that any of their grandchildren participated in no matter what the distance.
June’s declining health forced her and Howard to move to LaCasa in Plentywood in January, 2007;and in August June entered the
nursing home and Howard moved back to Medicine Lake. She passed on February 2, 2008 in Plentywood.
Howard is survived by his four children and their families: Cynthia and her husband David Thomas live in Reno, Nevada; Jason
Skillingberg and his wife Eileen, live in Longmont, Colorado; Michael Skillingberg lives in Richmond, Virginia; and David Skillingberg and
his wife Dixie live in Homestead.;and by six grandchildren: Christopher Baumann, Brian Baumann and his wife Alex; Jennifer Zadel and
her husband Chris, Kelly Nolan and her husband Brad; and Mark and Eric Skillingberg. He also has five great-grandchildren, Zeke and
Chloe Baumann and Devon, Rylan Zadel and Jackson Nolan. His sisters Mildred Luebke of Froid and Betty Jean Johnson of California.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his loving wife of 59 years June, and a grandson, Nicolas Skillingberg.
Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood has charge of arrangements.
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
| 1923 - 2008 |
Remembering Howard