Ruth Irene Christenot

Ruth Irene (Deeg) Christenot, 88, of Great Falls and Cut Bank, passed away Sunday, November 24, 2013 at a local care facility, with her family by her side. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Burial of ashes will also be held at a later date in the Crown Hill Cemetery in Cut Bank next to her husband. Cremation has taken place under the direction of O’Connor Funeral Home. Ruth was born August 5, 1925 in Alaeidon Township, MI to Charles and Vera (Gubbins) Deeg. After graduating from nursing school in Jackson, MI and becoming a registered nurse, she travelled to California to work in the naval hospital in Alameda. It was there she met her future husband, Kenneth Christenot. They were married on March 16, 1949 in Cut Bank, MT after Ken’s discharge from the Navy. During the years they lived in Cut Bank, Ruth worked as a registered nurse in the Cut Bank Hospital while Dr. Ken had his dental practice. In 1973 Ruth and Ken moved to Great Falls where Dr. Ken was the Dental Health Officer for the City-County Health Department. While living in Great Falls, Ruth was a frequent volunteer at hundreds of Red Cross blood drives. After Ken’s retirement in 1988, they moved back to Cut Bank to be closer to their cabin near Essex. They enjoyed spending time camping and fishing. They also enjoyed taking a once in a lifetime trip with their camper to Alaska. Ruth was active in the First Presbyterian Church in Cut Bank and was an ordained Deacon. Ruth was also very active in the church Women’s Group. She was an accomplished seamstress and really enjoyed getting together with the “coffee ladies” at McDonalds. Ruth moved to Great Falls in 2012 to be closer to her daughter. Ruth is survived by her daughter, Candace (Al) Recke of Great Falls; son David Christenot of Beaverton, OR; granddaughter Brenda (Dalton) MacLeod of Great Falls; grandson Joseph Dwyer of Missoula; step-granddaughter Erin Recke of Duvall, WA; step-grandson Thomas (Tami) Recke of Elizabeth, CO, great-granddaughters Layne, Breanna, and Linda and great-grandson Cole all of Great Falls; Step-great-granddaughter Emerson and step-great-grandsons Csaba and Peter all of Elizabeth, CO; great-great-grandson Dakota of Great Falls; brother Kenneth (Mabel) Deeg of Tucson, AZ; three sisters-in-law Myrna Christenot of Salmon, ID, Helen Christenot of Chester, and Andrea Christenot of Havre; many nieces and nephews; and her “coffee ladies” of Cut Bank. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ken; brother Bruce Deeg; and her parents. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the American Red Cross.