Eve K. Printz

Eve K. Printz, 83, passed away on to heaven quietly at her home on Jan. 9, 2004. She spent her last two years at her home of 62 years on Daly Avenue in Hamilton. Care was provided by her husband of 64 years, Royal, and by her son, Paul, and daughter, Sandra.

Eve was born the eldest of 14 children in Beulah, N.D., on Sept. 13, 1920. Her parents were Eva Kohler, the daughter of North Dakota pioneers, and Wilhelm Mayer, a refugee of the Russian revolution and a World War I U.S. Army veteran.

Eve spent her first two years of life on the prairie in a sod hut with dirt floors prior to moving to Almont, N.D., where she spent her youth. The Depression years required her family to move to the Bitterroot in 1937 where her father was under contract with Clarence Duus.

She met Royal Printz almost as soon as she arrived and they were childhood sweethearts. She would try a brief stint in the larger world in 1938 by traveling to Yakima, Wash., with a group of local youths from the valley who went there to experiment with their lives as agricultural employees, picking hops. However, her destiny was to return to the valley and to be wed on July 8, 1939, to the man of her dreams.

She began her family with the birth of her son Douglas in 1941, followed by four other sons, Merrill in 1942, Paul in 1945, Jay in 1946 and Kenneth in 1949. Sandra, her only daughter, was born in 1948. She tragically lost a son, Darrell, Merrill's twin, shortly after birth.

Eve had a long history of being the correspondent and spiritual support of a great many war veterans beginning during World War II with three of her brothers, Bill, Roney and Frank who were engaged in combat in the Pacific and in the European theater. Her brother, Thaddeus, was in Korea and later in Vietnam. She also provided three sons to the Vietnam conflict, Paul and Jay of the Marines and Kenneth of the Army. Sons, Merrill and Douglas, served in the armed forces during the cold war. She was also there for her grandsons, Kevin Printz, Jon Clarkson and Roderick Printz in the Navy and Steve Clarkson in the Army for the Gulf War of 1991. Her letters and support were always the most welcomed and cherished slice of love by these veterans to see them through.

Eve was a highly spiritual person and parishioner of St. Francis Catholic Church in Hamilton since the 1940s.

Her devotion to God in the 1950s moved her to teach religion to children as a Sunday school teacher and lead her own children to worship every Sunday. The 1960s and 1970s found her engaged in active support of the Parish and as assistant to Father Frank Burns for many years including his final ailing days where Eve provided much of his care.

The 1980s and 1990s found her further involved in providing care to church laity and to other community citizens without regard to religious affiliation. She spent over five years as one of the main supporters and an attendant for Meals on Wheels. She gave tirelessly her time, energy, and emotion to help wherever she felt she was useful to anyone who asked. She had no enemies, and had a smile for everyone. In 1994 she was named First Lady of the Year by Beta Sigma Phi Soroptomist Society.

She was known throughout the city of Hamilton for her fast walks that she took for exercise on a daily basis covering the town from one end to the other greeting and smiling to people as she went.

As a lover of animals she knew the names and personalities of most of the dogs who guarded the yards of houses throughout the areas she passed. She was first to praise the owners of animals who took good care of them and the first to correct those who did not. Often she would claim animals as her own if they were to be abandoned or mishandled, otherwise she would find homes for them or personally take them to the animal shelter.

Throughout her life Eve knew the epitome of health, suffering only one time from a bout of flu until a tragic series of physical calamities took her down several years ago, including congestive heart failure. With the aid of a pacemaker, close family and relatives, and her many friends, she spent her last years in quiet dignity surrounded by the love of those who knew her. Her heroic final struggle matched her life and in her last days she was blessed with the opportunity to give peace to those she left behind.

She was preceded in death by her sisters, Sylvia and Rosalie, who died as infants; her brothers Joe, Roney and Bill; her grandson, Kevin, and her great-grandson, Forrest.

Survivors include:her loving husband, Royal; her children and spouses, Douglas and Linda of El Dorado Hills, Calif., Merrill and Raven of Denver, Paul, Jay and Janie, Sandra and Pete Clarkson of Hamilton, and Kenneth and Sharon of Missoula; her sisters, Frances and Barbara, and brother, Thaddeus, of Missoula; sisters Josephine and Bernadine of Hamilton, Loretta of New Mexico, Jane of Detroit, and brother, Frank, of Washington State. Other survivors include 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A Wake service will be held Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 11 a.m. at St. Francis with Rev. John Darragh presiding.

Interment will follow at the Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton.

Visitation for friends will be held Tuesday from 2 until 5:30 p.m. at the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton.

The family suggests memorials to the Bitter Root Humane Association, 262 Fairgrounds Rd. Hamilton, MT 59840, in memory of one of her last thoughts, to check on "Meatball", the dog, to make sure he was not outside in the cold.