Charles Wilbur Bridenstine
1929 - 2010
Bill Bridenstine died Nov. 12 at his home in Dillon. He was born Mar. 16, 1929 in Pendleton, Ore., to Fred and Dorothy Bridenstine.
The family moved to Dillon in 1942 when Fred became manager of the JC Penney store.
Bill attended high school in Dillon, graduating in 1948. He moved to Illinois to attend Wheaton College and met Rebecca, who would become his wife in 1952. They raised four children.
He returned to Dillon in 1995 to care for his father.
Rebecca died in 2006.
In 2008 he met and married Gloria, who moved from Florida to Montana.
During his life he had several careers including Fuller Brush salesman in college, home builder, teacher, which he fell into after a fall on a building project; and finally photographer, which, like his father, began as a hobby and grew into a profession.
Other hobbies included flying. He flew a single engine plane from Illinois to Montana in the 50s, and also enjoyed building and flying model airplanes.
He was active in his local church and bible studies, attending Prairie Bible Church, and Stone Creek Church in Dillon in his later years.
He is survived by his beloved wife Gloria, of Dillon; his sister, Jan (Boyd) Keefer, Albuquerque, N.M.; daughters, Penny (Mark) Sauskojus, Bolingbrook, Ill., Colleen Hazelrigs, Seattle, Wash., Kathy (Bill) Anderson, Bozeman, Jane (Jim) Boeckelmann, South Elgin, Ill.; thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services to be held at Stone Creek Church at 7 p.m. this evening.
Albert L. “Mac” McArthur
1913 - 2010
Albert L. “Mac” McArthur, age 96, passed away from heart failure on Oct. 10.
He was born in Butte on Nov. 1, 1913.
Mac, his wife and his children, were active members of the Dillon community from 1941 until 1963, at which time he and his wife, Alma, relocated to California.
Alma, who was a foreign language teacher at Beaverhead County High School, passed away from brain cancer at their home in Santa Barbara Calif., on Aug. 12, 1981, 29 years prior to Mac’s death.
As a young child, he lost his father to a fatal heart attack, and was raised by his aging grandmother. He learned to survive on the tough streets of Butte by fighting for his corner to sell the local newspaper, by swamping out basement speakeasies, and by delivering telegrams during the day and night.
He graduated from Butte High School in 1932, and somehow managed to save enough money to attend Montana State University in Missoula for two years, where some of his records, as a competitive swimmer, were unsurpassed for several years.
In 1941 Mac and Alma moved to Dillon where Mac became a wholesale gas/oil distributor for the Continental Oil Company.
He started the business from scratch when many ranchers were still in the process of converting from horses to tractors.
He was an active member and president of the Kiwanis Club, and served Dillon as the Justice of the Peace.
While operating his business, he also attended Western Montana College on a part-time basis where he graduated with honors in 1960. In 1961 he was awarded a master’s degree.
After graduation he sold his business and became an employee of the U.S. Treasury Department. He worked throughout the western states, and earned many promotions prior to his retirement in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1980.
Both Mac and Alma always considered Dillon as a really special place to live and to raise their children.
Mac treasured his many fishing trips on the Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers, and enjoyed meeting his friends who often met after work at the Andrus Bar for a drink before heading home for dinner.
He respected the hard work and high ethics of his many friends and customers throughout Beaverhead County.
He is survived by his three children, Sandra Wilkinson, Tucson, Ariz., Christine “Chris” Durrett and husband Charlie, Alamogordo, N.M.; and his son, Robert “Bob” McArthur and wife Kay, Corvallis; and grandchildren, Sherrie Farrell and husband Dave, Denver, Colo., Keri Antram and husband Tom, Albuquerque, N.M., Jeni Watson, Washington, D.C., Kammie McArthur, Seattle Wash., and Michael McArthur and wife Mandy, Corvallis.
He is also survived by his sister, Beverly Hill, Butte; and five great-grandsons and three great-granddaughters.
The family will gather, to celebrate his life, at a later date.
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