Sue Irene Heavirland passed away in Great Falls, MT on June 21, 2025, at the age of 84 years old. Cremation has been entrusted in Croxford Funeral Home and a semi-private celebration of life will be held in September which will include a bit of farm hopping, dark chocolate and Diet Pepsi!
Sue was born in Shelby, MT on April 10, 1941, to parents Charles and Annie (Ekholt) Wiegand, Jr. She spent the majority of her growing up years on the family farm in rural Shelby.
Sue met her loving husband Loren Heavirland in Shelby, MT and they married on August 9, 1958. Together they built a life and many memories living in Kansas City, MO, Albuquerque, NM, rural Sunburst, MT, rural Choteau, MT and retired to Great Falls, MT. Together, they had two daughters, Jill and Cristi, raising them in Sunburst. Most of her time was spent on the farm with her family, where she enjoyed being a wife and a mother and did an exceptional job at it. Sue’s greatest accomplishment would be just how loving and caring she was to anyone who crossed her path.
While Sue did work part time as a bookkeeper, she also found great satisfaction in being a trusted adult and temporary mother to the many boys she and Loren mentored for so many years. She was a Sunday school teacher for 5th and 6th grades for many decades and an active member of Sunburst Lutheran Church and New Life Church Choteau. She volunteered at church in various capacities for many years. She kept a great garden at the Sunburst farm where her strawberry and raspberry patches supplied some very sought after fruits.
Sue was also an accomplished cake decorator, decorating both her daughter’s wedding cakes, all of her grandchildren’s graduation cakes and some for different community occasions and friends. Later in life she began to travel a bit. The highlight was her trip to Israel with a church tour group. She loved everything about that experience and talked about it often. Sue purchased many collectibles and souvenirs which she proudly displayed in her home. She took three trips to Maui, including two that encompassed the entire family. She also traveled to Mexico and Alaska and especially enjoyed cruising.
Sue is survived by her daughters Jill (John) Brubaker of Great Falls and Cristi (Brett) Friede of Helena. Seven grandchildren: Elizabeth, Nicole (Austin), Johnny (Becky), Aaron (Anna), Patrick, Rachel and Staci. Three great grandchildren: Victoria, Sonny and Adalynn. Siblings: Dorothy (Norman), Karen and Polly. Honorary family members include John (Brittany) and Vlad (Hayley).
She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 62 years, Loren; parents, Charles and Annie Wiegand Jr.; sisters, Sally and Pat; brothers, Charlie and George.
Grandma will be missed but we will all see her again one day in heaven. “Jesus watch over you.”
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.
