Clementine Margaret “Tina” Ficek, 84, of Glendive, Mont., died March 5, 2015 in Glendive. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 10 a.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service in Dickinson, ND, interment following at St. Joseph Cemetery, Dickinson. Visitation with family present is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday March 13th, at Ladbury Funeral Service.
Tina, or Clemmie as many family members fondly called her, was born September 1, 1930 in Stark County, N.D. to Julius, Jr. and Mary (Huschka) Praus.
On September 14, 1954 she and Ulric “Pete” Ficek were married in Dickinson, and in August, 2014 they celebrated an early 60th wedding anniversary just weeks before Pete himself passed away.
Growing up on the family farm, she had a lifelong appreciation for plants and animals and especially enjoyed tending to her flowers and yard. She and Pete made homemade rhubarb and chokecherry wine, finding simple joy in the rising and falling of the balloons on top of the jugs during the process, and she loved to cook, swap recipes and shop with her daughter-in-law.
She had a terrific attitude about everything, even finding humor in what annoyed her, and she found the good in her work over the years – on the farm, as a laundry worker, as a waitress at the Beanery in the old railroad depot in Glendive, clerking at Buttrey Foods, baking donuts and other wonderful smelling items at the Glendive Bakery, assisting Pete in his accounting practice, and volunteering at the hospital gift shop. She also had a knack for finding money on the ground and winning drawings.
But Tina by far had the greatest enjoyment being with her family, talking, laughing, and winning at cards. She enjoyed weddings, anniversaries, everything about the accordion, music, dancing, her grandkids, and just visiting. She often mailed clippings she thought you would find funny or interesting with a little note to brighten your day. She was an authentically kind woman.
Tina is survived by her sons Steve of Glendive and David (Mary Anne) of Billings; grandchildren Bronte Nicole, Lauren Anne, and John Ulric; sisters Rose Praus and Anna (Lawrence) Dukart; sisters-in-law Evon (Jerome T.) Praus, Eugenia (Frankie) Praus, Christine (Vitres) Ficek, Dorothy (Otto) Ficek, and Mary (Steve) Kainz; brother-in-law Paul Ficek; and numerous extended family.
She is preceded in death by her parents; husband Ulric; son Wayne; sisters Katherine (Frank) Binstock, Agnes (Frank) Dworshak, Mary (Joe) Morel, and Margaret Praus; brothers Tony (Katherine), Vince (Victoria), Louis, Jerome T. (Evon), and Frankie (Eugenia) Praus; many dearly missed siblings-in-law; and numerous extended family.
