- Date Of Birth: July 6, 1930
- Date Of Death: December 23, 2016
- State: Montana
Dorothy Mae Danford, age 86, passed away in Kalispell on December 23, 2016 surrounded by her family.
She was born on July 6, 1930 in Creston, Montana to Anna (Sullivan) and Frank Keller on the farm her grandparents homesteaded.
Dorothy attended grade schools in Creston (Echo) and Lower Valley (Rousselle and Hodgson) then graduated from Flathead High School in 1948. She worked as a machine bookkeeper at Conrad National Bank in Kalispell after graduation.
Starting at age eleven, she was active in Lower Valley 4-H clubs with sewing, garden, beef and junior leadership projects for eight years. She made the majority of her clothes after learning to sew including an award winning navy blue wool suit. For her third year, deciding she wanted to feed out baby beef, she joined the boy’s 4-H Livestock Club. For six years she showed Black Angus and Herefords in Kalispell, Butte and Missoula winning many blue and purple ribbons, Reserve Champion and Grand Champion Showmanship.
When her older brother Francis purchased his first car, she taught herself to drive then headed to Kalispell at the age of 14 to get her license. Being told she was too young, she drove home and returned two years later to obtain an official drivers license.
On October 13, 1951 she married Neil ‘Nick’ Danford in Kalispell. During the years farming with her husband in the Lower Valley she always had a large garden, canning the vegetables, fruits and the Lake Koocanusa salmon Nick caught.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Neil and brother, Francis Keller.
She is survived by her daughter Cheryl (Reed) Larson of Parker, Colorado and son Robert (Terri Peterson) Danford of Lower Valley, grandchildren Marissa (Carl) Jaeger of Denver, Samuel Danford of Kalispell and step-grandson Tory Quinnell of Missoula.
