Graveside Service: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery in Wolf Point.
Frank Joseph Presser, age 92, of Wolf Point, Montana passed away Saturday August 11, 2007 at Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point of Natural Causes.
Frank was born March 20, 1915 at the family farm near Turtle Lake, North Dakota, the 6th child of Franz and Sophia Presser. Franks father Franz fought a valiant battle with tuberculosis but succumbed to the disease during the flu epedemic of 1918. He died the day before Christmas. The family stayed on the farm for approximately one year. Franks mother remarried in March of 1920 to Jacob Schlepp, a widower with four boys. The new family moved to the Jordan, Montana area in 1920. The nearest Post Office was named Purewater and the rural community was called Wason Flats.
Frank started school in 1921 in a country school near Purewater and continued there until 1927 when he returned to rural Turtle Lake and finished the seventh and eighth grade. Frank returned to Montana in 1930 and lived with his brother Carl and sister Alice for several years. This was during the worst part of the depression and money was very scarce. The siblings made home brew and sold it to provide a small amount of money for food. Frank later worked as a farm laborer for Vida area farmers. His wages were $1.00 per day.
Frank started working at the Fort Peck Dam on November 3rd, 1933. He was one of the first employees hired from McCone County. The starting wage was $.50 Cents an hour. Frank worked on this huge project until the Dam was completed the fall of 1939. In 1940, Frank was called back to work to lay rocks on the face of the dam.
In 1937 Frank married Esther Funk at the small Lutheran Chapel in Fort Peck. Together, they raised six children: Marvin, Joyce, Franklin, Cheryl, Eugene Butch and Lyle.
During World War II he worked for Consolidated Freight Lines in Glendive, Montana. Frank attempted to enlist in the Army but was denied because his position with Consolidated was considered crucial to the war effort.
Frank moved to Presserville (Vida) in 1946 (the community was started on a crossroads on Montana Highway 13 by Franks brother Carl). He built a tavern there, which he named the Midway Inn; this building burned in 1950. He then rebuilt on the other side of the highway and later added a dance hall and a small caf. Frank sold the Midway Inn in 1957 and in 1958 became manager at the Wolf Point Elks Club. There he started a restaurant, which was very successful. The Club was deep in debt and less than ten years later it was debt free.
In 1972, he and a partner, Ralph Eggebrecht, built the Sherman Motor Inn in downtown Wolf Point. Frank sold his interest in 1973 and purchased the Big Fork Inn in Big Fork, Montana. He added a restaurant as part of the Inn. Frank loved Big Fork but couldnt tolerate the doom and gloom of the winters. After two years he returned to Wolf Point and the sunshine and wide-open spaces of Eastern Montana. From 1975 thru 1977, Frank managed the Elks Club in Glasgow. In 1977 he became Restaurant/Bar Manager at the Sherman Motor Inn where his daughter-in-law Kay was the Manager. Frank worked there until 1980 when he retired. During his retirement Frank began purchasing and renovating rental properties and he would either rent or resell these. Frank enjoyed boating, fishing, and had some great Elk hunting trips in the mountains of Western Montana.
Frank is survived by his wife, Esther of 70 years residing at Faith Lutheran Home, his children, Marvin (Kay) Presser of Wolf Point, Franklin Presser of Hot Springs, MT, Eugene Butch (Virginia) Presser of Dayton, MT and Lyle (Marilyn) Presser of Greeley, CO; grandchildren, Jeff (Patty) Presser of Wolf Point, Mari (Jerry) Vandersloot of Havre, MT, Gwyne Presser of Denver, CO and Jesse (Andra) Presser of Greeley, CO; great-grandchildren, Nicole, Tara, Brittany, Angie, Garrett, Katie and Erin; two great-great-grandchildren, Lacey and Bowen; two brothers, Walter (Maurine) Presser of California and Eddie (Doline) Schlepp of Billings, Montana; and two sisters, Ruth Thurn of Calgary, Alberta and Ruby (Helmut) Rast of Boise, Idaho.
Frank was preceded in death by his father and mother, Franz and Sophia (Mehrer) Presser, daughters, Joyce (in a vehicle accident in 1956) and Cheryl (in a vehicle accident in 1963) and numerous brothers and sisters. Frank was devastated by the loss of his two beautiful girls and he grieved for them all through the years. He asked that he be buried next to them in Greenwood Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel in Wolf Point from 4:00pm 7:00 pm. Graveside services will be Wednesday, August 15 at 10:00 am at Greenwood Cemetery in Wolf Point. For those who wish to give memorials, the family suggests the Faith Lutheran Home Foundation, Inc., 1000 6th Ave. North, Wolf Point, Montana 59201. The family is extremely grateful for the wonderful, loving care given to Frank by the staff at Faith Home and more recently, the staff at Trinity Hospital. God Bless You!
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