Sheila Youngblood: in memory
I was saddened to learn of Sheila’s passing a few weeks ago. As the longest serving Board Member at the Big Hole River Foundation, she held virtually every position possible and advocated for the health of this watershed over the past 25 years.
Most recently, she was my editor - reviewing our newsletters for spelling errors and making sure my grammar was up to par. After her 23-year tenure in the Butte schools and achieving statewide recognition as a leader in education, she was certainly up to the task!
The Butte, MT & Big Hole communities lost a remarkable woman.
So, I wanted to take a moment to honor her memory and share her obituary below, crafted by her twin sister, Jane.
Sheila Pataky Youngblood died on Monday, February 13, 2023, in the memory care unit of The Springs at Butte after a brutal bout with dementia. A longtime Butte resident, Sheila, the daughter of Charlotte (Hammerburg) Pataky and Francis J. Pataky and twin sister of Jane Pataky Henderson, was born in Bridgeport, CT, on February 16, 1942.
After graduating from Darien (CT) High School in 1960, Sheila matriculated at Elmira College, was elected freshman class president, and majored in education and psychology, completing her undergraduate degree in 1964.
While in college, Sheila spent a summer in Denmark as a participant in the Experiment in International Living. This program—which she would continue to serve for many years as a counselor and trainer—inspired her pioneering zest and provided a foundation for subsequent formative commitments in education, cultural engagement, and outdoor life.
Sheila moved west in 1968, first to Salt Lake City, and then in 1977, to Butte, taking up an appointment to teach at the Emerson School. During Sheila’s 23-year tenure in the Butte schools, she became an accomplished and respected educator in the gifted and talented and future problem-solving programs at the three schools where she worked. Her teaching was characterized by innovative pedagogy, the search for practical applications, and a concern for gender equity. She was recognized as a Montana statewide leader, called upon to help train teacher colleagues across the state gifted and talented educational programming.
Always a learner, Sheila completed her master’s in education degree in 1996. After retiring in 2000, Sheila devoted time and energy to the Big Hole River Foundation and to the Motherlode Theater, serving more than 20 years as a board officer and patron of both organizations. She also served a term on the Butte-Silver Bow Planning Commission and volunteered regularly at the Butte-Silver Bow Archives.
At the time of the 50th reunion of her Darien High School class, Sheila expressed gratitude for the opportunities living in the west provided for the exploration and enjoyment of outdoor learning and recreation, especially fly fishing and hiking.
Throughout her life, she maintained strong connections with many friends in many time zones. Sheila was a Butte transplant with a wide-ranging root system.
She is survived by her son, Wallace J Nichols; granddaughters, Grayce and Julia Nichols; her twin sister, Jane Henderson; her nephew, Andrew Henderson, and her niece, Kirsten Sanchirico.
A memorial gathering will be held at noon Sunday July 16, 2023 at the Divide FAS Access on the Big Hole River.
Beloved mother, twin sister, daughter, aunt, grandmother, teacher, classmate, friend, partner, neighbor, fly fishing buddy, water lover and wild river advocate.
A river conservation scholarship will be created in her memory.
