Myrtle Graveley
December 28, 1936 - November 11, 2024
Obituary
Myrtle (Mert) Louise Graveley stepped into glory on November 11, 2024, surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mert was born on December 28, 1936, to Lloyd (Slim) and Mattie (Gatton) Best in Lewistown, Montana. Her formative years were spent in the Judith Gap, Straw, and Moore area. She was a middle child with an older brother, Wayne, and older sister, Linda Pasley. She had one younger sister, Margie Seal.
At the young age of 19, she met a charmer, Donald Graveley. After a mere two weeks of getting to know each other, they married on April 22, 1956. She didn't have time to buy a proper wedding gown, so her new Easter dress would have to do. Don and Mert were married just shy of their 50th wedding anniversary, when Don passed suddenly in 2006. She missed the love of her life and was looking forward to reuniting in heaven.
Don was married to Patti Paulson for a short time prior to meeting Mert. From that union a daughter, Cheri Morrison, was born. Although Cheri was biologically from another mother, Mert always considered her one of her daughters. Don and Mert's quiver began to quickly fill. Five more daughters were added to the family, Dawn Paiaina, Lynelle (Rob) Okuhara, Tracy (Dennis) Hein, Nita Chatfield, and Melodie (John) McDermott.
She dearly loved and cherished her fourteen grandchildren, Levi (Nikki) Morrison, Leilani (Steve) Andrus, Kapuaokamakahala Paiaina, Kanani (Jimmy) Lavenger, Kaleo (Candida) Paiaina, Cody Okuhara, Rory Okuhara, Corey (Casi) Ercolin, Nani Hance, Ronnie Hein, Melissa Cho, Nohealani (Lee) Fleming, Adam (Ashley) Cho, Carrie (Jess) Walling.
Mert had over 30 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great-grandchildren with one passing early in her life. She was crazy in love with all of them. She made sure to let everyone know that she wants them to trust in Jesus so she can walk with them in heaven one day.
Mert was one of the hardest working women you could have ever met. She was a rancher's wife (AI certified), meaning she was not in the house taking care of the girls and house, she was also in the fields helping increase the herd of cattle. She worked in retail, in the banking world, bought her own café, bookkeeper and finally where she felt her calling, at CLDI (Community Leadership Development Inc).
This is an organization that helps the less fortunate. That was her heart. Her body was tired, and she longed to see Jesus face to face and dance with dad again. We hated to see her leave, but she was ready. Now is the time to celebrate a life well lived.
A shared memorial service will be held in both Montana (2 pm) and Hawaii (11 am) on Saturday, January 25, 2025. We will live stream the Hawaii service to Montana and then have our separate time of fellowship and sharing over a meal. The location in Montana will be at Dahl Funeral Chapel, located at 10 Yellowstone Ave, Billings, MT 59101. The Hawaii location will be at the Palisades Pavilion.