Jean Eileen Strong

Jean Eileen Strong, 83, of Great Falls, passed away on September 12, 2019.She was born on July 23, 1936, in Lewistown, Montana to Wilmer and Margaret Hertel.Jean attended Trout Creek Rural Grade School as well as Moore High School in Moore, Montana.She grew up on her family's ranch outside Moore where her family still resides. She met her husband of 66 years, Harry Clark Strong, in Moore and they were married March 1, 1953.The two would move quite often while Harry worked for the State of Montana Highway Department, finally settling in Great Falls in 1965.Jean worked as a store manager for the Montana Department of Revenue for 20 plus years and upon retirement, they would spend their winters down in Apache Junction, Arizona.Jean and Harry raised two daughters, Carol and Pat. They were blessed with5 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, all of whom Jean was immensely proud of. Jean loved to knit as well as crochet, always making wonderful gifts for her family.She would share her amazing skills with her grandchildren, teaching them the art of crochet as she would have them complete their own projects, spending wonderful family time together.She belonged to Eastern Star and the Methodist Church while in Montana, and she served as the choir director for the Non-denominational Church at the Arizona Golden Vista Retirement Resort.Jean’s favorite program was the Easter Celebration, which was the culmination of their winter stay in Arizona, sending them north, back to Montana for the summer.Jean was friendly to everyone and all who knew her liked her. Jean is preceded in death by her parents and her brother John Hertel of Moore, Montana. Jean’s family was her greatest love, as she had a grateful heart and found joy in sharing all of their accomplishments.She is survived by her husband, Harry Strong of Great Falls; sister, Betty Witzel of Billings, Montana; daughters, Carol (Mike) Hollern of Great Falls and Pat Carter of Missoula; grandchildren, Sarah Guza of Bozeman, Mahamantra (Subal) Das of Raleigh, North Carolina and her two sons and daughter, Nathan (Abbey) Guza of Missoula, Montana and their daughter, Casey (Taylor) Shoop of Misawa, Aomori Japan and their two daughters, and Jordan (Trista) Hollern of Great Falls and their two daughters and two sons; and sister-in-law Dixie Hertel. The family is planning a memorial service in Jean’s home town of Moore, Montana during the summer of 2020.