Geraldine Austin

Grenada resident, Geraldine Frances Austin, passed away on March 29, 2015 after an unexpected illness. She was less than a month away from her 95th birthday. She leaves behind, her sister Ella, her daughter Barbara, 5 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild, numerous nieces and nephews. Geraldine was born on April 15, 1920 in Sweet Grass, Montana, daughter to James Vaclav and Ella Hendrick., Geraldine grew up on a Montana homestead with her two sisters, Christina and Ella, and brother James, near Sweet Grass. She attended country schools in the area. Later, she would board with various people in Sweet Grass to attend and graduate high school. Geraldine recalled as a child, riding to school in the winter months in a horse drawn sleigh driven by her cousins, the “Suta Boys.” She remembered hearing the jingle bells attached to the harness. It was a sight and sound she would not forget as her Hungarian cousins, the Sutas, were dressed in traditional winter caps and coats. She and her sisters also rode with them across the border into Canada to a nearby Hungarian Hall for dances and weddings. After graduating high school, Geraldine went to live with her Aunt in Klamath Falls, Oregon to attend Business College. It was there, in 1940, that she would meet and marry William Harrison Austin, a Conductor on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Their daughters Barbara Lea and Linda Mae were born and raised in Klamath Falls. After her divorce, Geraldine remained in Klamath Falls working as an insurance agent. She attended Sacred Heart Church and volunteered with the altar society. Geraldine was a self taught artist influenced at an early age by the work of Charlie Russell, renowned western artist of Montana. She is well known for her sketches in the Echoes of the Prairie, a history book about the early pioneers and homestead families of Toole County, Montana. Her sketches and paintings are on display in the meeting room of the Sunburst Library in Montana. She also contributed many stories and poems to the contents of this book, in particular, an in depth story, “The Sheep Story” giving a detailed history of the early sheep men of that area. Geraldine loved to garden, raising her own fruits, vegetables and flowers. In the last few years of her life she lived with her daughter Barbara in Fort Jones, California and for the last year was a resident at Shepherd of God Assisted Living in Granada, California. Geraldine was preceded in death by her daughter Linda, her granddaughter, Barbara, and her son in law Jim Conwill. She will be laid to rest at the Cemetery in Sunburst, Montana at the base of her beloved Sweet Grass Hills and just a few miles from the family homestead. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Resident Fund, Shepherd of God, PO Box 339 , Grenada, CA 96038 or Madrone Hospice, 255 Collier Circle, Yreka CA 96097.

Geraldine Austin

April 15, 1920 - March 27, 2015