Ben
Epstein Jr. of Helena and Cut Bank, 82, died of complications from COPD
Sunday at a Helena medical facility.
A no-host celebration of his life is 7 p.m. Friday at
the Elks Lodge in Cut Bank. His funeral is 1:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Margaret's
Catholic Church in Cut Bank. Retz Funeral Home of Helena, and Whitted Funeral
Chapel of Shelby are handling arrangements.
Ben was born in Shelby on Dec. 10, 1926, to Ben and
Pearl (Mitchell) Epstein of Ferdig, Mont. He and his parents followed the oil
fields to Oilmont, Erickson school area east of Conrad, and to Sunburst, where
he attended grade and high schools. He quit school in 1944, at age 17, to join
the United States Navy, with which he served in the Pacific campaign. He was
honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946, and returned to Sunburst to work for
the Texas Refining Co. In 1948, he married Shirley Snyder.
Ben and Shirley Epstein raised four children at the
Whetstone oilfield camp north of Cut Bank, Larry (Callie) of Cut Bank, Mark
(Bernie) of Kent, Wash., Marilyn (Steve) Davidson of Cut Bank, and Judy (Rod)
Siring of Dillon. Ben worked for many years for Carter/Exxon in the Cut Bank and
Kevin-Sunburst oilfields, and as a drilling supervisor in early development of
the North Dakota and Eastern Montana fields.
Ben retired from Exxon, and he and Shirley moved into
Cut Bank. He worked for a time for Cut Bank Gas Co. before entering into a
partnership with Fred Walters to create Montana Oilwell Acidizers, an oilfield
service company at Cut Bank, which he operated until his retirement.
While raising his children, Ben was a leader in Boy
Scouts and 4-H, and worked with the youth program of the Cut Bank Saddle Club.
He was a life member of the Cut Bank Elks Lodge. He loved to camp with his
family and hunt and fish (he especially loved ice fishing), and was an active
member of the board of the Cut Bank Golf and Country Club.
In 1991, Ben's wife Shirley died suddenly. In 1992, he
married Coreen Gibson of Cut Bank. Coreen's grown children, Jerry (Sherrie)
Gibson of Helena, Deb (Dean) Hendrikson of Livingston, Wes (Lauri) Gibson of
Houston, and Lynne (John) Brown of Cut Bank, joined his extended family. Ben and
Coreen spent winters in a new life for them both in Sedona, Ariz., among a host
of great friends, and summers among Montana family in Helena. It was at Canyon
Mesa at their home in Arizona, that he introduced Coreen to his lifelong love of
the game of golf.
He is survived by his wife, Coreen; children and
stepchildren, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who have
brought him a great deal of joy in his later years.
Ben was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley; a son,
Mark Epstein; and by his parents.
Memorials are suggested to Hospice of St. Peter's
Hospital of Helena, the Parish of St. Margaret's Catholic Church or to the
charity of your choice.