Obituary: Pete Tangen

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Pete Tangen, 83, passed away of natural causes in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas on January 19, 2011.  He was surrounded by his family at the end and passed peacefully.
Pete was born on March 1, 1927 to Otto and Lorraine Tangen in Admiral, Saskatchewan, joining his three brothers, Conrad, Otis and Theodore and one sister, Cora.  The family moved back to the US when Pete was a young child and settled in Hogeland, Montana.  He and his older brother Otis had to ride a horse to school.  As a result of several hair-raising incidents during these commutes, Pete developed a strong dislike, for horses that lasted his entire life.
Pete related stories of a particularly hard winter while working for his brother, Conrad on his dairy and sheep farm in Harlem, Montana.  At that time, he decided to enlist in the Navy because he felt his chances of survival were better facing the Japanese in the Pacific than staying on the farm.  Fortunately, WWII ended while his ship was headed to the Philippines.  After the war, Pete returned home and married Helen Kinzel.  He worked as a machinist/mechanic with the government at Fort Belknap, where their oldest child, Tom was born.  Pete then operated his own gas station in Harlem through the mid fifties.  During this time he got into stock car racing.  He and his friends were quite successful at racing at the cost of many hundreds of hours of sleep over several years.
He continued to work as a mechanic in Harlem over the next 30 years.  Pete took great pride in his craft and worked hard to stay abreast of new developments in his business.  His spare time was spent camping, boating, and water skiing with his family, which now included a daughter, Karen, born in 1959, and a son, Perry in 1963.  Early family memories include camping in a school bus converted by Pete and watching him water ski behind a boat rebuilt by him and his brother-in-law.  He amazed us all by slalom skiing with the rope handle behind his head and his pipe in his mouth.  Pete water skied and snow skied well into his mid sixties.
In 1981, Pete moved his family to Zortman, Montana where he worked for Pegasus Gold Mining Company as the company’s light vehicle mechanic until he retired.  He loved working at the mine and wore his Pegasus Safety Award jacket until he passed away.  In 1983, Pete lost his beloved wife, Helen, due to cancer.  Retirement for Pete was a continuation of the simple life he had always led.  He bought a camper trailer and traveled around for a short while, then settled in Phoenix, Arizona near Karen.  He focused nearly all of his energies on soaking up sun, relaxing, and trying to forget about all of those below-zero mornings in Montana.  In October, 2010, Pete moved to Fairfield Bay, Arkansas to be near Tom and his family.
Pete was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Tangen, his parents, and his brothers and sister.  He is survived by his son Tom of Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, daughter Karen of Mesa, Arizona, and son Perry of Springfield, Virginia, as well as four grandsons, one granddaughter, and one great-granddaughter.
Pete was a simple man who dearly loved his family, his cats and dogs, all things mechanical, car racing, lots of sugar in his coffee and the sunshine.  He spoke infrequently and softly, but when he said something you always leaned in close to make sure you got it all, because it darn sure meant something.  He will be dearly missed.
The family is setting up a scholarship fund to support undergraduate mechanics students at Northern Montana College in Havre.  Anyone who would like to make a donation in memory of Pete can do so by forwarding it to:
The Pete Tangen Memorial Scholarship
The MSU Northern Foundation
P.O. Box 1691
Havre, MT  59501

A memorial service will be planned for later this year in Chinook, Montana, where he will be interred.

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Love Conquers All For Lisa And Friends

Sherry Guess

Staff Writer

Lu Harding, Mountain Eagle Director, Lisa Singletary, Rev. Steve Copley, Director of Justice For Our Neighbors, and Jan Vandygriff.

This story is actually part two in a series. Part one appeared in the 7/16/2003  issue of the Fairfield Bay News and was entitled “Lisa’s Story; One Of Survival And Hope”.

Lisalotte Singletary was born in Germany in 1940, grew up in an orphanage until coming of age. While there, she was ill a great deal of the time and did not even learn to read and write.

Once she was out on her own, she quickly fell into what many would call a bad marriage with an abusive husband. She bore two children but once the authorities became aware of the abusive home, the children were taken away, as was the German regulation of that time.

Lisa met her American husband, Archey Singletary through an ad in a German magazine which listed men looking for wives, as was read to her by a girlfriend. At a low point in her life, she accepted the prospect of marrying an American and moving to the United States as something positive. She flew to America and  married him, setting up housekeeping in Shirley, AR and trusting in Archey’s assessment that she didn’t need papers for residency status since she was married to an American. Fourteen years later, Archey died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving Lisa to fend for herself.

Enter Fairfield Bay resident, Jan Vandygriff, who was a social worker and case manager for White River Area Agency of Aging for Van Buren County. A neighbor of Lisa’s called the office, concerned about Lisa who had no visible means of support and was having a very tough time of it. Jan jumped in to help, assuring Lisa that she would try to help her get her widows’ benefit started with Social Security.

Sadly, the determination with SS was that since Lisa did not have legal resident’s status, she was not eligible for any benefits and was subject to being sent back to Germany, a prospect that Lisa did not want to face.

For all the years  since Lisa became a widow, Jan and Lu, the Director of the Methodist based Mount Eagle Retreat Center, have gone to bat for Lisa with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the necessary forms to adjust her legal status were completed and filed. Trips to Memphis were arranged, the aid of  Congressman Snyder was enlisted, they even found an attorney who could take up Lisa’s cause, but there were no funds to pay him. Meanwhile, Lisa’s health was suffering, her teeth needed attention, etc. One by one, various neighbors, friends, church members from several denominations and  the Xi Gamma Tau chapter of  Beta Sigma Phi sorority took up the cause to help Lisa survive in her home, paying expenses thru fund raisers and donations. Lisa, a very hard worker, was busy on her own, growing her own vegetables, recycling aluminum cans, and selling off her livestock over time, doing what she could do for herself.

One of Lisa’s extended neighbors just happened to be the Mount Eagle Retreat Center, a ministry of the United Methodist Church of Arkansas where Lu Harding, a clergy person, had been appointed to serve as Director.

The miracle of love has allowed Lisa to maintain her home, restore her dental and medical health through donated services of a doctor, nurse practitioner, dentist, oral surgeon and yes, even a lawyer/Reverend Steve Copley, Director of Justice For Our Neighbors, an organization sponsored by  the UMC of Arkansas that helps immigrants with immigration issues.

Delays in paperwork, denials, new applications, courtroom appearances and, in a last ditch effort on the advice of the attorney as it seemed likely they may be denied their last appeal, he asked for any persons who could do so to send a letter or attend the hearing. All of Lisa’s friends wrote letters on her behalf, and Mt. Eagle  even rented the Fairfield Bay Recreation Bus and some friends took off for Memphis for the last hearing on November 1, 2010.

Lu Harding, Director of the Mount Eagle Retreat Center, drove to Memphis with Lisa and they spent the night in a hotel awaiting the early morning court date. Lisa was so nervous, she was unable to eat or sleep. Lu stayed up all night with her and read her all of the 60 + letters written on her  behalf to plead her case to  the judge.

The bus load of friends and neighbors left FFB at 3:30 a.m. in order to be at the courthouse in time to be present at the hearing. Lisa spent one and a half hours on the stand, testifying about her life here in the United States and her wish to remain here as she considered this her home and many of her friends were more like family.

At the end of it all, they were told that the judge’s decision would be rendered in about 3 weeks time. All anyone could say or do had been said or done. Now, they just prayed.

On 11/22/10 the phone call came announcing that Lisa would receive a green card, however, by regulation, a new photo   and fingerprints would need to be taken, again. Lisa and friends quickly complied and then, waited some more.

Finally, on December 28, 2010, Lisa Singletary received some mail that looked official. She called her friend, Rev. Lu Harding to report it but said, “There is a card…..but it’s not green”! Lu raced over to Lisa’s to see for herself and, the verification caused Lisa to jump and shriek with joy.

The very next day, Jan Vandygriff took Lisa to the Social Security office to apply for the widow’s benefit which was now available to her. Her life story of hope and of faith was about to take a turn for the better.

There was a Green Card party last Sunday in one of the lodges at Mount Eagle Retreat Center. Many of Lisa’s friends and adopted family were there to help celebrate. The tablecloths and the balloons were…what else….GREEN! The cake was green, too. Everyone brought dishes to share, And green gifts for Lisa!

Rev. Lu Harding spoke for a few minutes, sharing all the highlights of all the years, She covered the major points of the past 8 years, asking for a show of hands at times for those who brought Lisa firewood, took her to doctor appointments, helped her with repair projects and shopping, the doctor and nurse practitioner who oversaw her medical care and returned her to health, as well as the several churches  represented whose members are a big part of Lisa’s life. The culmination and the reason for the party being told, Lisa proudly waved her green card in the air amidst thunderous applause and a few tears of joy.

Then, it was Lisa’s turn to speak from her heart. She wanted to thank all those who stood by her side over all these years, helping her when she was unable to help herself. Her future plans include helping others who are in need, something she knows a lot about. She regularly attends church ecumenical style:  she goes to the Baptist church one night, and  Tabernacle of Praise with her “adopted mom and dad”, as well. She does not miss a chance to praise the Lord for her wonderful life and friends here at home in America.

God’s time is not our time. The years of patience and perseverance on this pathway to success was a long and twisted road. For all the blessings Lisa has received, she has, in turn, blessed everyone she knows with her unwavering spirit of faith and hope and, most of all, love.

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First Semester Shirley High School Students Honored

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Tiffany Howard Visits Paris, France

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Thank You Clarence Radford For Your Friendship to the Library

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Ladies Bible Study For All

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Xi Gamma Kappa January Events

Xi Gamma Kappa Lunch and Bunco Party at Indian Hills Country Club.

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North Shore News 1-26

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Council Approves the 2011 Budget

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2011 Story Fest Plans Finalized

2011 Story Fest Plans Finalized

Stas’ Productions has announced plans for the April 23, 2011 Story Fest and performing tellers that will include having the tents set up this year on the parking lots in the Village Place Mall on both sides of Building #4 (site of the Heber Springs State Bank and Edward Jones).

DPS Donation…

by Ann Dunkin

Positive Promotions is a company that sells promotional items for employee recognition awards and corporate gifts all over the world.  Once a year they have a contest to choose a Nurse of the Year.  They accept hundreds of applications. The contest is divided into 4 regions; north, south, east, and west.  A panel of nurses review all of the applications in their particular region.  It is then narrowed to 3 positions; first, second, and third.  Ozark Health’s Edna Prosser came in second place for the Southern Region.  Edna was chosen because of her dedication to nursing, her patients, her place of employment, and her community.   Edna received a Nurse of the Year 2010 certificate for second place along with a $250 check to be used by the Surgery Dept.

One lane of Highway 25 across Greers Ferry Dam will temporarily close for about four months beginning in February while construction is performed on the dam. Stoplights will be positioned to direct traffic on one lane at a time.
Officials at the Army Corps of Engineers’ Greers Ferry Project Office said they regret any inconvenience this may cause, and they are asking the public for cooperation while the work is completed.  Officials urge motorists to obey traffic signals.
The closure is being coordinated with emergency services and law enforcement agencies.  The Corps asks travelers to plan alternate routes and allow extra time to reach their destination.
For more information contact the Greers Ferry Project office at (501) 362-2416, or stop by the office near the dam on Highway 25, three miles north of Heber Springs.

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