Ann E. Basaraba, 89, formerly of Belfield went to eternal, peaceful rest on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at St. Benedict’s Health Center, Dickinson. Ann’s Parastas will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, with Fr. Taras Miles presiding. Interment will take place later this spring at St. John’s Ukrainian Cemetery, Belfield. Visitation will be on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., at Ladbury Funeral Service.
Ann was born April 30, 1921, at Gorham, the only daughter of Sam and Katie (Gregory) Evoniuk. She was raised on the farm with six brothers; Julian, John, William “Jim”, Emil, Raymond and Edward. She attended school in Billings County.
On June 4, 1939, she married George R. Basaraba at Gorham. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Gary, Ind., where George aided the war effort by working in the steel mills for five years. During this time, a son and daughter were born to them. George’s father needed help on the farm, so they returned to the Belfield area where they made their home for the next 28 years, and another son and daughter were born.
During this period, Ann raised her children while waitressing and cooking at Frank’s Café. She was well-known for her fantastic doughnuts, bismarcks, long-johns and her delicious soups with noodles or dumplings made from scratch. How well her children recall the huge, flat circle of dough, from which she cut her own noodles by hand!
In 1960, she and a dear friend, Lil Kubik, decided to go into business for themselves, so they convinced the owner of the Painted Canyon to lease his café to them. Ann and Lil had a ball managing their little café for many summers.
In 1972, George transferred to the ASCS office in Lisbon. He and Ann lived there for five years before he retired and they returned to Belfield. It wasn’t long, however, before Ann was talked into using her talents at Hugelen’s Truck Stop restaurant. She worked there for several years before retiring. Thereafter, she and George enjoyed traveling, visiting relatives and spending a little time in Reno or Las Vegas.
Ann was a fantastic cook; she was a traditional Ukrainian cook, but loved trying new recipes. She not only passed her cooking talents on to her children, but she played a mean hand of canasta and taught her children how to play until they were almost as skilled as she.
Ann leaves behind a son, Richard Basaraba, Peoria, Ill.; two daughters, Patricia (Jack) Simmons, Mesa, Ariz., and Donna (Dennis) Schaff, Scranton; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one great, great-grandchild; and five sisters-in-law. She was preceded in death by her husband, George; her oldest son, Jerome; her grandson, Todd Schaff; her parents; and her six brothers.
