Denise Kay Terra

Denise Kay (LaBelle) Terra was born October 14, 1951, in Havre, Montana. Throughout her young life she lived in many small towns around Montana, spent many years in the Flathead Valley, and settled in Great Falls in 1990. She worked as a secretary, bookkeeper, and administrative assistant throughout her life. Her favorite job was working the front desk at Cambridge Court Assisted Living, where she remembered every resident, every family, and every staff member with a smile, a treat, and offers for prayer. She loved to create and for many years entered craft shows with her sister to sell painted wooden items and fabric ornaments. She loved cats, Yahtzee, Glacier Park, and taking the grandkids to get ice cream. She hated loud music, arguing, and being photographed. Her favorite meals were her son-in-law Mike’s grilled pork chops and potatoes, and she enthusiastically attended every birthday party of every grandchild, always asking, “What’s for cake?”.

Denise was known for her sense of humor and could never resist a bad pun. She was often goofy and silly, a source of laughter for everyone who knew her. She was filled with a deep love; in fact, she could love unconditionally. She built a life around her family: her husband Richard, her daughter Teresa and husband Mike, her stepdaughter Fabia, her twelve grandchildren, and her beloved sister Patricia and brother-in-law Bob. She cared for her brother and parents in their waning years, taking on “book work,” medication management, and legal duties until their deaths. She was a loyal and steadfast mother, sister, and wife, giving her life to her family. Her dearest wish was to pass her faith to her daughter and grandkids, who were all praying with her when she died. Her faith was easily the most obvious, deep, and lasting thing about Denise. She loved Jesus with her whole being, and had a special devotion to the Holy Spirit, spending years in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and to the Virgin Mary, having visited Guadalupe in Mexico and Medugorje in Croatia on pilgrimage. She was a devout Catholic, a praying woman, an abiding member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, who always had a group of ladies with whom she prayed the rosary. She was a fierce friend and advocate. She was genuinely interested in everyone she met and would spend hours talking to anyone and everyone, always in the end offering to pray for them and usually offering them a medal or a rosary to take with them. The lives she touched were countless. She did not look for attention or renown, but lived a simple, quiet life praying for and serving others. She took very seriously the command to spread the good news, and she is likely responsible in some part for dozens of conversions through the years. She saw God everywhere, in leaves, in rainbows, in butterflies, and in thousands of other tiny signs and marks of beauty.

She died peacefully surrounded by family and friends at her home on June 4, 2026, from COPD. She was preceded in death by her parents, Russ and Eileen LaBelle; brother, Dan LaBelle; as well as several close friends. She is survived by her husband, Richard; daughter and son-in-law, Teresa and Mike Schmit and their ten children; stepdaughter, Fabia Terra and her husband Martin and their two children; three nieces and nephews; twelve great-nieces and -nephews; and nineteen great-great-nieces and -nephews. She was godmother to many people and prayed for them daily. She was also a member of her close-knit community of fellow believers who were also praying with her when she died. In lieu of a memorial contribution, she would much prefer a prayer, a Mass, or a shared memory.