Mass of Christian Burial: Friday January 14, 2011 at 11 AM at ST Joseph Catholic Church in Hysham, MT.
Rite of Committal: Hysham Vale Cemetery.
Jere, at the age of 85, passed away peacefully in his sleep from heart complications at his home in Hysham, Montana on Monday, January 10, 2011. He was our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. We have all been left with a void in our lives that will be impossible to fill. He exemplified the term, family man, as his family was of utmost importance and always his first priority.
He was born in Hysham on 06/05/1925 to James and Margaret (Zent) Manning and was the second oldest of their 7 children. His younger brothers, Ronald and Robert, preceded him in death and he is survived by his oldest sister, Elaine/Bootsie (Erwin) Heberle and three younger sisters Marilyn Manning, Sharon (Willis) Rexford and Colleen Suhr. Jere lived nearly his entire life in Hysham except for a very short move with his family to Helena, Montana when he was a teen. His parents and younger siblings then moved to Big Horn, Montana and ran the general store. Jere returned to Hysham and lived with his aunts, Helen (Manning) Henricks and Irene Manning, so he could attend and graduate from Hysham High School in 1943.He started working for his grandfather, Matt Dad Zent at Zent Hardware when he was in high school and literally never left the business until the day of his death. After Matt retired as owner Jere worked for his uncles, Herb and Harold Zent, who had become owners. In 1972 Jere purchased Zent Hardware from Herb and it became known as Manning International. Jeres mom, Margaret, also worked as the bookkeeper at the business from the time she was a young woman until she was 96 years old. Following in their dads footsteps, sons Curt and Mark, both started working there when they were in high school and are currently co-owners of Manning International.
Jere married Doris Bott of Custer, Montana in Billings in 1951 and they have called Hysham home for the past 60 years. They have five children, Michelle (Dennis) Hoovestal, Curt (Hope) Manning, Mark Manning, Lynn Gray and Wendy (Neil) Dennehy. He was then blessed with 7 grandchildren, Amy (Dan) Hoovestal (Colavito), Jackson, Kevin and Kobe Gray, Michael, Chris and Jere Dennehy and recently two great-grandchildren, Jameson Gray and August Colavito. Jeres grandchildren were the highlight of his life. This included not only his natural born grandkids but also countless youngsters who considered him their own Grandpa Jere. He also was an integral part of many other peoples lives which included a huge extended family, friends and business associates/customers. He tried to always be kind to everyone he interacted with and looked for the best in each individual. He kept a paperweight on his desk that said, No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.Jeres Catholic faith was the cornerstone of his life, and he was a lifelong active member of St. Josephs Catholic Church of Hysham. He served the Church in many local capacities and also was a long time representative for the Great Falls Diocese. He was also committed to many civic organizations in Hysham including the
Chamber of Commerce and Museum Board and was so honored to have been recognized by the Chamber of Commerce, with his wife Doris, as Citizens of the Year in 2006.Even though he had a very strong work ethic, Jere also found time over the years to enjoy many family oriented leisure activities. He loved every special event or holiday gathering, with Christmas being his absolute favorite. He looked forward to going to the cabin on the Boulder, fishing, dancing, drawing and soaking up every bit of news and information possible from reading, TV or going online. When he would finally leave the store on Sunday afternoons (after always looking both ways to make sure no more customers might be coming!) he would often take a Sunday Drive. Whenever possible he could be seen in the audience watching his grandchildren participate in their many school, church and community activities.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Anderson, Kirk Mackley and all of his caregivers at the Rosebud Health Care Center in Forsyth as well as to his medical team in Billings. Over the past two years since initially having heart surgery Jere had faithfully gone to rehab/exercise in Forsyth and it became one of the most important parts of his daily life.
Visitation will be on Thursday, January 13th at Stevenson and Sons from 10:00AM-4:00PM. That evening there will be visitation at St. Josephs Catholic Church in Hysham from 6:00PM-7:00PM followed by the recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:00PM. A funeral Mass will be held at the St. Josephs Catholic Church on Friday, January 14th at 11:00AM. Burial will take place at the Hysham Vale Cemetery with a luncheon to follow at St. Josephs Catholic Church. If so desired, memorial contributions are suggested to St. Josephs Catholic Church, c/o Audrey Lackman, 23 Gibson Road, Hysham, Montana, 59038 or to an organization or charity of one's choice.
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