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Grace M. Hiltabrand was born on November 11, 1928 in Helena, Montana to Arthur G. and Florence M.
(Wickersheim) Nelson. Grace was a lifelong resident of Helena. She attended grade schools in Helena and graduated from Helena High School in 1947.
Grace received her degree in Electrical Engineering in 1979 and was very proud to receive this degree. She was dedicated into the Salvation Army Church February 1929 and was baptized into the First Baptist Church in 1944 and is a life member. Grace joined the United Methodist Church in 2008.
She was employed during her high school years at the Parrot Confectionery, Cooper Ice Cream Shoppe and Mountain States Telegraph and Telephone Company as a telephone operator beginning in her sophomore year. After graduation from high school, she became a full-time employee in the Engineering Department as a blue print operator and in later years moved into the drafting area. Grace was an engineering instructor for Outside Plant Engineering and was the first woman promoted as a Unit Superior in Outside Plant Engineering for Montana – a position she held until promoted to Facilities Manager Network.
She retired in March 1983 with 36 years of service as an Assistant Manager – Network Distribution. Grace married Richard G. Wood and of this union three children were born.
Richard and Grace later divorced. She married George F. Hiltabrand on November 11, 1967 in Helena at the United Methodist Church.
Grace was initiated into Miriam Chapter No. 1, Order of the Eastern Star on May 28, 1968 and served in many stations before being elected as Worthy Matron in 1977. She was appointed Grand Representative in 2006-2008 and was appointed Grand Warder in 2014.
Grace was Mother Advisor of Helena Assembly No. 7, Order of Rainbow for Girls for 9 years and was awarded the Grand Cross of Colors. She joined Sapphira Temple No.
79, Daughters of the Nile in February 1968 serving in many stations, was instructor for several years and elected Queen in 1991. She served as Supreme Lady of the Gates in 1996. She was also a member of the Sapphira Temple Oriental Band and the Sapphira Whispering Veils Units.
Grace joined the Fraternal Order of Eagles Ladies Auxiliary No. 16 in 1978. She was the leader of the Girl Scouts of America and in 1949 formed a Girl Scout Troup and remained their leader for 18 years.
She was a member of the International Bossons Collector Society and served on their Board of Directors for three years. She is survived by her son Donald W. Wood, Helena; two step-sons Scot C.
Hiltabrand, California, and Herbert F. (JoLane) Hiltabrand, Minnesota; her sister Suzanne Bidmead, Helena, and sister-in-law Frances Nelson, Havre. Grace was preceded in death by her parents, her husband George, two brothers George (an infant) and Arthur Nelson, daughter Yvonne N.
Hiltabrand, son Richard L. Wood, daughter-in-law Debra Wood, granddaughter Lisa Knowles, great-granddaughter Shealynn Wood, sister Pearl Spurzem, brothers-in-law Richard Bidmead, and Richard Spurzem, sister-in-law Auriel Hiltabrand and aunts Alma French, Dorothy Bedwell and Bessie Perhay. Visitation will be Wednesday, October 9, 2024 from 2:00 p.
m. to 5:00 p.m.
at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Avenue in Helena, MT. A funeral service celebrating Grace's life will be 11:00 a.
m. Thursday October 10, 2024 at the funeral home. A reception will follow in the social center of the funeral home.
Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery Helena, Montana. Please visit to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Grace. The family wishes to thank St.
Peter's Hospice for their support of her end-of-life care; and a very special thank you to her niece Lisa White for her love and gentleness for the home-health care in Grace's final days. Memorials may be made in Grace's memory to the Daughters of the Nile Foundation, 6705 Mesa Dr., Austin TX 78731-2817—to care for children at the Shriners Hospitals, or a charity of the donor's choice.
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