Eunice W. Mahlum, 94
Eunice W. Mahlum peacefully passed away on October 29, 2017 at her home in Bigfork.
Eunice was the second of three children born to Stuart F. and Emma M. (Wittlake) Duncan on May 29, 1923 at the home of her Grandmother Duncan in Kila and lived all but 14 years of her life in the Flathead Valley.
Her family moved to Somers when she was around 5 years old. She loved growing up in Somers and during her high school years she worked as a switchboard operator at the home of Allie Corb. She graduated from Flathead County High School in 1942 and worked at various jobs, including Christmas trees and Intermountain Bus Lines. She married Kenneth Walter in 1943 and had a daughter Judith Walter Johnson in 1944. She and Kenneth divorced shortly thereafter and in September 1945 she married Andrew Johnson and started working at W. G. Woodward Company taking over as the bookkeeper. Andrew passed away in 1954. The original B&B became her next adventure in life when she went to work for Jack Brown in 1955 as the bookkeeper. She loved the B&B as did most people in the valley.
She married Beryl P. Mahlum in July 1961 and moved to Missoula and Potomac. She and Beryl, with John Erickson, started Diamond Bar Meats in 1969 which they ran until returning to the Flathead Valley in 1975. They bought a place on Oldenburg Road where they farmed and raised cattle. The farm was sold and they moved to Bigfork in 1991.
Eunice had a fondness for old things and restored many pieces of furniture which everyone admired. She had a story for every old piece she acquired. She loved doing cross stitch and needle point and loved the history of the valley. She was very knowledgeable on Kerr Dam and the water table of the lake and the impact created by Montana Power Company.
Problems with hearing and tremors slowed her some but she was a very independent person until her death, still driving and taking care of her personal matters. She always had a joke to share and always looked like she just stepped out of a fashion shoot.
Eunice is survived by her daughter, Judi (Dick) Niederegger, grandson Paul (Nancy) Royston, granddaughter Kimberlee Wolf, honorary granddaughter Tonya (Bill) Buxton, 10 great grandchildren, 4 great great grandchildren, six nieces, six nephews and their families.
Eunice was preceded in death by her husband Beryl, both parents and her brother and sister.
Eunice did not want a funeral and the family has chosen to respect her wishes; however a celebration of life is being planned for next summer.
She wanted to share a portion of an essay written by Robert N. Test:
      “Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds
   to help the flowers grow.
      If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my
   weaknesses and prejudice against my fellow man.
      If by chance you wish to remember me, do it with a
   kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I
   have asked, I will live forever.”

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