Marcia Diane McNeil
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Marcia felt like she had a great life.
She was born in Moscow, Idaho, on June 4, 1947, to Paul and Kathryn Hoskins. She had 1 sister (Kathy) and 2 brothers (Alan and Dan), who all enjoyed the outdoors experiences that Paul's job with the US Forest Service encouraged. Favorite activities included riding horses, snowmobiling, swimming, camping and skiing on snow in winter and water in the summer.
She attended grade school at Wisdom, Lima and Deer Lodge, graduating from high school at Deer Lodge in 1965, with a class of about 85. She started college at Kinman Business University in Spokane WA from fall of '65 to spring, then transferred to Montana State University in the spring, changing from a Business major to a Physical Education major with Business minor.
She met and married Steven L McNeil, and together they had two children, Leah and Laine.
While living at Forest Park trailer court, she and the children were frequent participants in Omoksee events throughout Western Montana. There were also innumerable trips south and north to and from West Yellowstone, where her parents lived. Days there were typically spent water skiing, camping, and snowmobiling.
After a divorce in 1978, Marcia moved with the children first to Trident, then McLeod, Montana, in 1980. On a ranch there, she found her niche, a happy place where daily chores in the outdoors filled the days. Her children were raised there, attending and graduating from high school in '87 & '89.
She met Jim Favinger in 1992, and lived with him at a ranch on Otter Creek, returning to the life she most loved for another decade. They moved into Big Timber in 2002, where she worked at the Pioneer Medical Clinic. Jim passed in 2010 at their home.
She retired early from the PMC to help her daughter and son-in-law finish raising their family, at a ranch house she had helped design and build 30 years prior. Leah passed in 2020, and Marcia enjoyed the last year recreating with her siblings, on motorcycle trips and travel in the Western US.
Her diagnosis with cancer came in an abrupt fashion, with a rapid change, from seeming great health to suddenly, not.
She passed November 28 in the presence of her family, at peace.
Condolences can be sent to the family at www.woodfuneralhome.com.