Josephine (Ritland) Boxwell, 94, of Great Falls and previously of Cut Bank, a retired teacher, died Friday, January 29, 2010, of natural causes at a local nursing home.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at Faith Lutheran Church in Great Falls. Cremation has taken place under the direction of O’Connor Funeral Home.
Survivors include her son, Merlin Boxwell of Cut Bank; daughter, Marilyn Iverson of Newcastle, Wash.; four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, nine brothers and sisters and one grandchild.
Josephine was born March 16, 1915, to Thore and Johanna Ritland in a log cabin built by her father on a homestead near Castle Rock along the Missouri River in Montana. The family moved to North Dakota in 1919. Josephine graduated from Dayton High School in Tolna, North Dakota in 1932. She attended Mayville State Teacher’s College in North Dakota and Northern Montana College in Havre. Josephine taught in rural schools in North Dakota and Montana.
She married Alvin Dale Boxwell in Geraldine in 1938. Jo and Alvin began farming north of Cut Bank in 1945. Josephine taught school in Cut Bank for many years. In 1999, Jo and Alvin retired to Great Falls.
She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Cut Bank and Faith Lutheran Church in Great Falls.
Memorials are suggested to Faith Lutheran Church, 3125 5th Ave. S., Great Falls, MT 59405 or St. Paul Lutheran Church, 602 E. Main St., Cut Bank, MT 59427.
Condolences may be posted at oconnorfuneralhome.com.