Theda “Teddy” Whiteman McMakin, age 85, of Lame Deer

Teddy Mcmakin began her journey to the kingdom of heaven on September 20, 2020. She was born May 29, 1935 at the Tongue River Hospital in Lame Deer to Milton (Buster) Whiteman Jr. and Emma Kinzel. She spent a lot of her childhood with her grandparents Alice and Jerry Kinzel. She had fond memories of this time and had a special place in her heart for gramma Kinzel. Her favorite story was when she was quite young, there were holding corrals down by Jimtown and she found an abandoned colt down there. So, she proceeded back to grammas house while this colt sucked on her thumb all the way home. She named him Dozier and this began a 25 year friendship. She went to school in Lame Deer and Busby Boarding School where she graduated. On February 28,1952 she married James Mcmakin. They resided in Fallon, MT at the family farm and Terry, MT until moving back to Lame Deer in 1970. During this time she was proud of alot of accomplishments. She was especially proud of her oldest daughter, Clara Lee, when she was named valedictorian of Terry High School. She was proud of the fact that she was one of the first female bus drivers in Fallon and the first woman to drive a beet truck over the scales. Mom had a love of music that was passed down by her father who played guitar and sang to her. This love of music resulted in a local band with fellow musicians Pookey Aires and Keith Frost. The band was called the Prairie County Ramblers which was later selected into the prairie County rock n roll hall of fame. And if you guys were lucky enough to hear the story of the greatest horse race in Prairie County history between her and Dozier and Hank Gobb then you probably heard one of the greatest stories ever told. Classic. Her and Mike were the errand runners for dad. Travelling as far as Belle Fourche to get parts and Mike was always by her side and that bond lasted her lifetime. She had a special relationship with Mike often calling him her rock. When it came to bragging about her kids, which she loved to do whenever she had the chance, she always talked about her oldest son, Tom. She was proud of all his accomplishments especially of his teaching career and his Mormon mission to London. She was very proud of her two oldest children’s education. The family moved back to Lame Deer in 1970. In 1975 we moved into our present house and mom took great pride in paying her house off early and getting the deed to the house was a good day. She called this home for the last 45 years. She loved quilting and made over 500 in her lifetime. Loved playing cribbage and pinochle with friends and family. Some pretty heated games of pinochle were played at the house. Her house was always filled with family and friends. Her love of music was passed on to her 2 youngest sons Oly and Pat. I think her love of music turned into a tolerance for noise. The house turned into the local jam place for all local musicians. The house would be rocking for hours at a time and she never said a thing. She definitely had an immense amount of patience and maybe some earplugs. She had a strong work ethic and took pride in knowing we tried our best to carry on that tradition. She got her first security contract thru a grant that her cousin, Bill Mason, worked on. She was responsible for all tribal entities as well as the Lame Deer Elementary School, IHS emergency room, and all arco property. She was proud of the fact that she had the ability to hire fellow cheyennes and made many lifelong friendships along the way. We weren’t rich in any fashion but she always made sure we had everything we needed. She was proud of her work with Janet Mullins. Working to get the peoples park up and going as well as their work at the Lame Deer Cemetary. She is preceded in death by her husband Jim, her parents Buster and Emma, Her grandparents Alice and Jerry, a son Jerry, aunts Helen, Cecilia, Rose, and Cyrilla and uncle Virgil. Four special grandchildren, Rusty, Mary, Zachary, and Makinzy. One special great granddaughter Sweetpea. Her lifelong friend Annie Burn and special cousin Carol Red Cherries. She is survived by her children- Clara, Tom (Jane), Mike, Kelly, Debbie, Oly (Theresa) and Pat. Grandchildren- Lance, Jeri, Annie (Ryan) Crowe, Jessica (Aaron) Gourley, T.J. (Tiffany), William (shelly), Richard (Anna), Joseph, Sariah, Jared, Moritza (Bou), Loranzy (Jazz), Mickers, Rocco, Grasshopper, Izzy, Makeo, Kason, Illy, Toni, Tristan, Trevor, Tessa, Tavin, Toran, Evan, and Three adopted grandchildrenPhilip Beckman, Jonah Redcherries, and Rusty Lafrance. Greatgrandchildren- Haisley, Kirin, Ronin, Madison, Emerson, Ava, and Doc. One uncle- Oscar Kinzel. Neices- Alice (Orlando) Rodriquez and Emma (ondag) Whiteman as well as special sister in law, Nan Whiteman. Special cousins- Diane Rapos, Bill mason, Vanna Schwab, and Patricia Rowland. Special friends- Janet Hincherik, and Janet Mullins. Mom had a long life and made many friends along the way and a whole lot of cousins (too many to mention) that we, as a family, apologize if we forgot to mention your name. Pallbearers are Mike Mcmakin, Oly Mcmakin, Pat Mcmakin, Loranzy Mcmakin, Rocco Mcmakin, Evan Elkshoulder, Mickalena Mcmakin, and Ceilbells Mcmakin. Honorary Pallbearers are Lance Spotted Elk, Philip Beckman, Jonah Red Cherries, Jerome Whitehawk, Dennis McCormick, and Dave Engellent.

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