EILEEN HAN, Obituary

INVERNESS Eileen Helen Han, 78, died Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002, at a Chester rest home.

Vigil prayers were Sunday evening and the funeral Mass was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Inverness. Burial was to follow at the Inverness Cemetery.

Eileen was born Feb. 20, 1924, on the family homestead east of Inverness to Michael Leo Meyer and Rose Elizabeth Pfannenstein. She grew up on the family farm and received her education at Inverness. She was the only student in the Inverness High School graduating class of 1941. After high school, she attended Northern Montana College for a year.

Eileen married Kenneth M. Han on Sept. 23, 1944, at Riverside, Calif., where Ken served in the military. Following his discharge, they returned to Montana to farm south of Inverness. Eileen worked diligently as a farm wife, homemaker and mother of six. The couple made their home on the farm throughout their married life. In later years, they spent their winters in Mesa, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nev., Hemet, Calif., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

Eileen's health began to fail in 1999, and she had major surgery in 2000. Her health continued to deteriorate, so she moved to the Liberty County Nursing Home in July.

She was a lifelong member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Inverness and was active in the Altar Society and church choir.

The Hans were past members of the Farm Bureau. Eileen served as an election judge for many years and was proud to be a Republican.

Eileen was a seamstress and made fashionable clothing items. She also made many afghans, enjoyed working with ceramics and was a good cook. She enjoyed bowling in the Hi-Line leagues in her younger years. She was an avid high school sports enthusiast who was a perpetual cheerleader and grandstand referee. She enjoyed walking with Ken for good health and collected dolls just for the fun of it. She loved to travel and made many trips, including journeys to Japan and Korea in 1985, the Seoul Olympics in 1988, England in 1992, plus taking a Caribbean cruise and visiting Mexico.

Eileen also enjoyed spending time with her family, her children and her grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Ione, Alda, Adelaide and Inez; brother, Donald; granddaughter, Nicole Eileen Han.

Survivors include her husband, Ken Han of Inverness; sons, Allen (Barb) Han and Jeff (Vicki) Han of Inverness and Dave (Linda) Han of Belgrade; daughters, Renee (John) Kowalski of Helena, Desi (Jay) Warwick of Monument, Colo., and Anita (Lynn) Robirds of Powell, Wyo.; 12 grandchildren; sisters, LaVern McFadden of Great Falls and Claudette Alex of Inverness; brother-in-law, Frank Kraft of Bigfork; and many nephews and nieces.

Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel, Chester.