Marian Jessel, 79, of Conrad, Montana, passed away Wednesday, November 26, 2014. A funeral service celebrating her life will be held at the Conrad Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, December 6 at 11:00 am with a family graveside service to follow at the Conrad Memorial Cemetery. There will be a viewing preceding the service from 10:00 to 10:45 at the church.

Marian was born in Conrad, Montana on November 6, 1935. She was the oldest child born to Inez and Peter Drishinski. Marian attended school in Conrad and graduated from Conrad High School. Later she moved to Shelby, MT where she met and married Gordon Jessel on March 14, 1961. They are the parents of three daughters, Maureen, Susan, and Jami. In the late 60s Marian and Gordon and their two older girls moved to the family farm Northeast of Conrad where Marian had grown up. “The Farm” was always one of her favorite places to be. Marian taught her daughters to cook, garden, sew and can. She always helped and supported them in all of their activities, especially 4-H.

Marian loved life and learning. She had many interest and hobbies and wasn't afraid to try new things. She loved art and tried several different mediums, but preferred oil and watercolor painting. She was an avid photographer and especially enjoyed taking pictures in Glacier Park.Some of her other interests included collecting antique bottles and jars, flower arranging, geology and rock collecting, gardening, and genealogy. In later years Marian spent many hours researching her ancestors and grew to love them and talked of them often and shared the things she learned about them with her family.

Marian had a strong work ethic and was a very reliable employee. She worked for the telephone company in Shelby as an operator when she was younger and then later worked at the hospital in Shelby as an LPN. Marian's last place of employment was her longest. She worked as a dispatcher for the Pondera County Sheriff's Office for 33 years. She was very dedicated to her job and truly enjoyed it. Marian loved her family very much and enjoyed spending time with them. She also loved helping people whenever she could. She will be missed greatly by those of us who love her.

Marian was preceded in death by her beloved husband Gordon, who passed away on April 13, 1995; her father Pete, her mother Inez, and her younger brother Jim.

She is survived by her sister Nadeen (Bruce) McCracken of Conrad, daughter Maureen (Garret) Trawick of Plains, MT, daughter Susan (Brad) Gurney of Fairfield, UT, and Jami (Jay) Young of Conrad; her grandchildren, Jessica Robinson, Daniel (Sandra) Trawick, Joshua (Heather) Trawick, Rebekah Trawick, Cory Gurney, Eric Gurney, Ian Gurney; her great-granddaughter Sarah Trawick and many nieces and nephews.

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