Deanna L. Durnell

Deanna Lynn (Rideout) Durnell, 64, passed away on April 2, 2018 at her home in Valier after fighting a long, tough, and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Deanna was born on March 8, 1954 to Don and Dorothy Rideout. She attended Conrad and Valier Public Schools and graduated from Valier High School in 1973. Deanna had a maternal instinct from the time she was little that extended to almost everyone she met throughout her life.

She married Mike Durnell on April 5, 1991, and they spent their years together in the Valier area, raising their family, hosting too many holiday dinners to count, visiting the west coast and Yellowstone National Park, and enjoying the Rocky Mountain Front, especially Johnson’s Crossing.

Deanna was the definition of a hard worker. She worked a variety of jobs including at Curry’s Market, various nursing homes, Valier Schools, and the Two Medicine Bison Ranch. Deanna’s home was spotless and a speck of dirt meant that her house was going to smell like vinegar the next day.

Her door was open to everybody with a cup of strong coffee and one of her signature homemade donuts.

Deanna was a mean pinochle player and always managed to pull off 100 Aces. She was a proud supporter of the Valier Panthers and during the football and basketball seasons, if she wasn’t attending the game, could be found at her kitchen table listening to the radio while playing solitaire.

Deanna was the queen of hard work, of airheadedness, of wisdom, of stubbornness, and of strength. She was a fighter and a hero to her family. She was known for laughing until she cried.

Deanna is survived by Mike, her husband of 27 years, daughter Alison Durnell of Valier, and sons Shane (Megan) Rideout of Boise, Idaho, Chase Durnell of Valier, Jeff (Pattie) Durnell of Great Falls, and Paul (Maya) Durnell of Midland, Texas. Survivors also include her grandchildren: Teagan, Blaze, Gauge, Ava, Bailey, Noah, Carter, Abby, Tori, Zack, and Zane.

Deanna is also survived by her siblings Debbie (Joseph North) Rideout of Missoula; Randy (Annie) Rideout of Shelby; Maury (Linda) Rideout of Valier; Leslie (Steve) Nelson of Valier; Anne (Clayton) McAlpine of Valier; Rusty Rideout of Chester; and Jennifer Rideout of Chester; and her nieces and nephews.

Deanna is preceded in death by her parents.

The Vigil and Rosary for Deanna will take place at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church in Valier on Thursday, April 5. Her funeral will be held on Friday, April 6, at St. Francis at 11 a.m.