Natalie West

Natalie West Grandmother, Mother, Homemaker, Worker Natalie was born into a rural family in Canada and was raised in a farm environment along with a sister and brother. Natalie’s father passed away early in her life and she escaped the farm for the big city in her late teens to live on her own and to pursue a career in the secretarial field. Natalie met her American military husband while working in Canada and she became a military wife and traveled the world for the next few decades and raised a family of two sons and a daughter. Natalie and her husband retired in Great Falls Montana in 1974 where Natalie became involved in rental property management and upkeep which kept her very busy. Natalie enjoyed the outdoors and enjoyed many outdoor activities including camping, hiking and fishing. Natalie was divorced in 1986 and had a rough time of depression and a suicide attempt. She moved to Spokane and started a new life in that city and started working again at Gonzaga Prep. She worked there for many years and made many new friends and enjoyed the students she worked with at work. Natalie was very physically active and hiked most days of the week and even ran a few races. Unfortunately, Natalie suffered from a brain aneurysm (brain bleed) in Spokane and barely survived that incident with two major surgeries and months of care. It was thought that several mini-strokes occurred during that medical incident and recovery. Natalie moved back to Great Falls in 2012 to be closer to her children who all live in Montana. She continued to enjoy hiking and spent every morning walking the local trail system for hours. Her memory started to fade in 2015 very dramatically as dementia started affecting her health.She became unable to drive within 4-6 months of the onset of dementia and the decision was made to place Natalie into an assisted living facility and she was moved to Touchmark in 2015 to be closer to her daughter, Leanne, who lives in Helena. Natalie had a real love for dogs, children, and grandchildren. She was never a spiritual or church going person until her time in Great Falls. She attended church with her son Richard for several years and gained an awareness and acceptance of our Creator. She enjoyed attending church and spiritual discussions and crossed the line of faith and accepted Christ into her life as her Savior. Natalie was a very intelligent and hard working person during healthier times and was a devoted mother to her children and grandchildren. Mom was devoted, loyal and generous to family and friends but did not suffer fools or the pretentious. She could be a real spitfire if you pushed the wrong buttons and certainly wasn’t bashful about giving you a piece of her mind!She is survived by a sister (Doris Brunner), two sons (Richard and Robert), a daughter (Leanne McMahon) and eight grandchildren (Cody, Keeley, Cooper, Sean, Amanda, Tatum, Josie, Allysa). Mom provided a real example of the value of work, family, resilience, and the upright life. She was handed some tough times but overcame those things with dignity, grace and hard work….at the end she was dearly loved and respected by all.