(May 20, 2002)
Funeral services will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Meeteetse for Violet (Vi) M. McFarland, who died Monday, May 20 from complications of a stroke. She was 73.
She was born to Ed and Katie Larson on Sept. 23, 1928, at the family homestead on Rawhide Creek near Meeteetse. She graduated from Meeteetse High School in 1947 and worked for the telephone company in Meeteetse where she met Joe McFarland.
After their marriage Sept. 24, 1948, they moved to Dillon, Mont., where her husband cooked for his brother-in-law, Skeets Murray. They later lived in Butte and Livingston in Montana before moving to Powell.
They returned to Meeteetse in 1957 where she worked at the ranch and was camp cook for her father's outfitting business. For several years, she also worked at the Meeteetse school district as a cafeteria cook and bus driver.
After her father's death, she cared for her mother and managed the family ranch. She loved gardening, grew tomatoes from seed and was a test gardener for Jackson Perkins roses. She designed and baked cakes for weddings and birthdays throughout the region. She was an avid fan of professional bull riding and loved ranch work and her horses. She had a passion for birds and enjoyed identifying birds feeding at her several bird feeders.
Survivors include her husband of 54 years, Joe, of Meeteetse; mother, Katie Larson of Meeteetse; two daughters, Brenda (Keith) Eden of Powell and Cindy (Ray) Gullion of Worland; one son, Mick McFarland of Meeteetse; seven grandchildren, Fred and Joyce Eden, Darin (Stacy) McFarland and Mikki Jo McFarland, and Jerry, James and Heidi Gullion; one great-grandchild, Kenneth Eden; and nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her father; sister, Pauline McCarty; and nephew Eddie McCarty.
Visitation at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody will be Friday, May 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. Burial following Saturday services will be in the Meeteetse Cemetery.