Mary Ken Chandler

Mary Ken Patterson Chandler passed away peacefully at Spring Meadows Assisted Living in Bozeman where she had resided for a number of years. She was 93.

Mary Ken was born in Butte Montana to Ken and Scotta Patterson. Scotta was from a Gallatin County pioneer family (Duncan), but Mary Ken's allegiance and heart was always to her beloved Butte. Butte was filled with immigrants from all over the world. Mary Ken grew up with, and attended school with, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Swedes, Finns, Danes, and of course the Irish.

Mary Ken was very involved in school and wrote for the school newspaper, was on the ski team, and was in Glee Club. Skiing was at Beef Trail and ZBarT, both of which are now defunct. Butte High also had a good football team that played on a dirt field.

Upon graduation, Mary Ken entered the University of Montana where she majored in English with a minor in Journalism. While attending UM she pledged and joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority where she made life-long friends.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Mary Ken struck out on her own to San Francisco where she worked for United Airlines. She and several colleagues shared a beautiful apartment in Sausalito with a view of the city and the bay.

After a few years, Mary Ken's beloved Montana brought her back to Missoula where she had a radio show on one of the local stations. At this time, she was set up on a blind date with a young law student Page Wellcome. Page was not the beautiful Mary Ken's only suitor, but in time Page won her hand and they married in 1957.

Page received his law degree in 1959 the same year their first son Jim was born. They then moved to Whitefish where another son Bill was born. After a brief stint in Helena, the young family settled in Bozeman, a quaint college town which was totally different than the metropolis it has become.

Page was elected Gallatin County Attorney in the early sixties and Mary Ken focused on raising their two boys. She took Jim and Bill skating at South Side Park with its great jukebox, and skiing at Bridger Bowl which only had a T-bar at the time. She joined the PTA at Irving School and was very involved in her boys' education. She also joined the PEO Sisterhood where she made life-long friends.

When Page finished his term, he took a position at the Corrette Law Firm in Butte. While it was hard leaving her friends in Bozeman, Mary Ken loved returning to her hometown. She showed her boys her old haunts such as the still dirt field at Butte High and Columbia Gardens, an amusement park built by the copper magnate William Clark. She was a Cub Scout den mother, a Little League supporter and cheerleader, and a ski partner. It was at this time that her youngest son John was born.

Bozeman and its allure soon pulled them back but within a few years of that move, Mary Ken would find herself a single mother of three boys, two of whom were very "spirited." Mary Ken returned to college at forty, earned her teaching certificate and was hired as an English teacher at Bozeman Junior High School.

In teaching, Mary Ken found her true calling. She loved imparting her love of literature to her students. She taught them how to read for content and enjoyment and to express themselves through proper writing and grammar. Her classes were popular and always interesting, and she welcomed participation from her students. She was also a nurturer and often helped students, many of them young girls, find their footing during the difficult time that is adolescence. Jim and Bill often heard from women years later who told them how Mary Ken had impacted their lives.

Women as attractive as Mary Ken don't stay single for long and it wasn't long before a fellow teacher, Dan Chandler, offered to take her for a ride in his new Subaru he had just purchased at The Metric Shoppe. Dan and Page were polar opposites, and in Dan, Mary Ken found a down-to-earth, humble, and intelligent soul mate.

Dan and Mary Ken soon married and enjoyed many years of wedded bliss. Dan, an expert skier, took Mary Ken skiing at Bridger Bowl and she returned the favor by introducing him to a sport her scratch golfer father had taught her. Golf would be a central theme in their lives from the time Dan swung a club.

Mary Ken eventually retired from teaching and she and Dan traveled the continent, often to different golf courses. She maintained lifelong friendships with her closest friends. People would often say they had a great time at Dan and Mary Ken's where there would be good, excellently prepared food, spirited and intelligent conversation, and a warm welcoming atmosphere.

Unfortunately, Dan had a stroke in his late sixties and passed away a few years later. Mary Ken was crushed but with the help of her own and Dan's kids, she persevered. Bill was a great help to her and lived with her for years until which time she moved to assisted living. Bill and Mary Ken shared a deep bond that not everyone has the good fortune to have.

It is often said that the true measure of a human being is not something as trite as wealth and material possessions, but how that person impacted the lives of others. In that sense Mary Ken was rich in the truest sense of the word and a great example of a life well lived. Well done, Mom.

Mary Ken was preceded by her parents, Ken, and Scotta Patterson; her beloved husband, Dan; and Dan's oldest daughter, Nola. She is survived by her brother, Scott Patterson (Barbara) of Sonoma, CA; her three boys, Jim Wellcome (Diane) of Minneapolis, MN and their sons, Burke and Duncan; Bill Wellcome of Bozeman; and John Wellcome (Jody) of Belgrade and their daughter and son, Annabelle and Cameron. She is also survived by Dan's children, Doug, Nyla, and Nedra.

Special thanks to Spring Meadows Assisted Living for the care Mary Ken received during the autumn of her life.

Memorials in Mary Ken's name can be submitted to any educational organization or the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter in Bozeman.

There will be a celebration of life next summer. It is the family's hope that many of Mary Ken's former students will come and share memories of her and her classes.

Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com