Auline Stahl

Auline Tuckett Stahl, passed away peacefully, at Beehive Homes in Missoula, Montana on Thursday, May 11, 2023.  Auline was a lifelong resident of the Missoula Valley and was 96 years of age at the time of her passing.

Auline Tuckett was born on August 7, 1926, in Saint Anthony, Idaho.  She was the 9^th child of 10 children to be born to Lorenzo F. Tuckett and Erma Electa Garn.  Lorenzo F. Tuckett was the Railroad Express Agent in Saint Anthony, Idaho and Erma Electa Garn Tuckett was a home maker.  Ten (10) children were raised in a tiny four (4) bedroom and one (1) bathroom home.  The outside privy was not replaced with the indoor bathroom until Auline was a little child.

Auline Tuckett attended elementary school and graduated from Saint Anthony High School as did all her siblings.  Auline graduated from high school in 1944.

It is of interest to note that the original Saint Anthony High School was converted to the South Fremont Junior High and her son-in-law, Kenneth A. Piippo, served as the Principal of the Junior High School, in the same building, from 1982 to 1987.

Auline Tuckett was an active girl and young lady.  She and her friends could often be seen swimming in the canal system and the Snake River around Saint Anthony, Idaho.  The Snake River and canals were deep, and to some extent, even dangerous.  Auline’s mother, Erma, never learned to swim but insisted that her children would learn to swim.  Erma would watch her children from the bank as they learned to swim and negotiate the canals and river.

Auline enjoyed music and had a beautiful alto voice.  She was active in school choirs as well as Church choirs.  Later in life and as a young mother, she sang with the Chansonetts Women’s Choir while living in Missoula, Montana.  Auline was active in community socials and enjoyed dances. 

During and after High School, Auline worked for Mary and Thell Bunnell in their restaurant in Rexburg, Idaho.  It was while working at this restaurant that she met the love of her life.

Dr. W. Edwin Stahl was assigned during World War II to practice veterinarian medicine in the Rexburg, Idaho area to replace the veteran veterinarians who had been called up to serve in the war.  Dr. Stahl frequented Mary and Thell’s cafe as he was, as yet, unmarried.  Dr. Stahl would flirt with Auline, which she did not mind in the least, and would untie her apron as she went by.  It is of interest to note that Auline was still in her Senior year of High School when Dr. Stahl arrived in Rexburg, Idaho and Dr. Stahl was 10 years older than Auline.  However, this age difference was not a hinderance to their relationship

Well, good food and a pretty young lady and a handsome bachelor led to a dangerous combination.  It also helped that Auline Tuckett had graduated from High School (1944).

Dr. W. Edwin Stahl and Aline Tuckett were married on July 16, 1944 in Rexburg, Idaho.  They honeymooned in Missoula, Montana.  They recalled a family dinner at the Florence Hotel and enjoyed the Missoula area where Dr. Stahl’s parents operated a ranch. 

The newlyweds returned to Rexburg, Idaho where Dr. Stahl resumed his practice.  Auline became her husband’s assistant and bookkeeper.  Dr. Stahl’s veterinary office/practice was located where the Rexburg BMC West business is currently located.  The couple lost the lease on this property and moved to Butte, Montana in 1945 where Dr. Stahl opened a small animal practice.  In 1946, Dr. Stahl and Auline were invited by Charles and Minnie Stahl, Dr. Stahl’s parents, to come to the ranch west of Missoula, Montana and open a veterinarian practice on the ranch.

It is of interest to note that Auline did not learn to drive a car until she arrived in Missoula, Montana.  Also, even though living on the ranch, she did not learn to drive or operate any of the ranch vehicles or machinery.

Auline served on the Board of Trustees for Hellgate Elementary School for many years.  She was the Chairperson of the Board and presented her daughter, Claudia, her diploma as she graduated from Elementary School.  She was instrumental in advancing the building program of the School District as the Mullan Road community continued to grow.

Auline enjoyed sewing and taught her daughters how to sew for 4-H projects.  Auline enjoyed crocheting and made many wonderful items which she gave away as gifts.  She was an excellent cook.  She cooked for hay and harvest crews that worked on the ranch.  She could feed a hay crew of up to 12 men in seeming minutes with very short notification.  She baked her own bread which filled her house with the most delicious smells!  She decided to make her own bread when store-bought bread reached the outrageous price of $.37 a loaf.  She made her own butter in an old wooden churn and her children had multiple opportunities to turn the handle.

She would often meet her husband and the “Camp Pass”crew when they came out of the Bob Marshall Wilderness hunting trips and was ready with a full dinner or picnic. She would meet them at the Monture ranger station and more often than not, would have to wait for the hunters.  This was a tradition that she followed when we her children packed with their father into the Bob Marshall, the Bitterroot Selway and the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness areas during the summer and early fall.

Auline and Dr. Stahl welcomed four (4) children – Claudia Jean, Charles Lorenzo, John Edwin, and Annette Auline – all were born in Missoula, Montana.

Auline was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She served as Jr. Sunday school President, Primary Chorister, as a Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, Stake Relief Society Board, Gospel Doctrine Teacher, Seminary teacher and served and sang for funerals.  She would always sing in Ward and Stake Choirs and even directed the Choir several times.

Dr. Stahl was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area in early July of 1982.  Ed and Auline were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on July 16, 1983 on their 39^th Wedding Anniversary. All of their children were in attendance and were sealed together as a family.

In 1994 a large 50^th Anniversary celebration was held in their honor.  Auline had a lovely new outfit and Annette and Claudia “tricked” their father into having a Tuxedo. All four children formed a quartet and sang several beautiful numbers.  Several friends spoke and grandchildren sang.  It was a great party.

Dr. Stahl and Auline lived in the Missoula Valley for 70+ years and were recognized for their commitment and contrib ution to the “Valley.”  At her passing, Auline was the last surviving member of the young adults who were living in the valley when she moved in as a newlywed.

Auline Stahl is survived by her four children:  Claudia Jean Piippo (Kenneth) of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Charles Lorenzo Stahl (Susan) of Hermiston, Oregon; John Edwin Stahl (Cheryl) of Missoula, Montana; and Annette Auline Marshal (Lance) of Spring Creek, Nevada.  She was preceded in death by her eight (8) siblings and is survived by only one sibling, Esther McArthur (Vaugh) of Boise, Idaho.  Auline is also survived by 18 grandchildren and 42 great grandchildren.

Funeral Services will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 3026 South Avenue, Missoula Montana on May 20, 2023 at 10 :00 am. with Bishop Rex Thompson conducting. Visitation with the family will be from 9:00 am to 9:45am. in the Relief Society room at the church.  Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens at 11:30am with a luncheon following at the LDS church at 1:00 pm.