Eileen Dernovich

Eileen Dernovich, 89, of Great Falls, a retired accounting civil servant, passed away October 16, 2013 from natural causes at a local care facility. Funeral liturgy will be held Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at noon at St. Ann’s Cathedral, where she was a member. Burial will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery. O’Connor Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Known as Eileen all her life, she was born June 26, 1924, on a ranch near Dupuyer to Michael Thomas and Mary Ellen “Mayme” Manix. She was raised on the family ranch and in her younger years rode her beloved horse, Miss Murphy, to the Dry Forks School every day. She received her diploma from Choteau High School. After her father passed away in 1942, Eileen moved with her mother to Great Falls and attended business school. She went to work as a bookkeeper at the Bureau of Reclamation in the Rocky Mountain Building downtown. She then secured a position at the Commissary on Malmstrom Air Force Base where she was promoted to accounting supervisor. Eileen was very proud of her job which also gave her the opportunity to do some traveling, which she loved. She was a long-time employee, working over 30 years before retiring to care for her ailing mother. As a young woman, Eileen was active in a Sorority and was on a bowling team. She enjoyed photography and belonged to a local club. Eileen loved the outdoors and loved to fish, going whenever she could with cousins. Eileen enjoyed going out to eat and spending time with friends and family. She had a special place in her heart and loved children. Eileen was always willing to step forward and help a neighbor or a stranger in need. It gave her great pleasure to go to the family ranch every summer and watch the cattle being unloaded from the trucks and put out to pasture. Eileen is survived by her loving family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Tom and Mayme Mani; a brother and two sisters, who died as infants from pneumonia.