Fay B. Fuller, age 93, of White Sulphur Springs

Fay B. Fuller passed away November 6, 2023.  Fay was born on Oct 1st 1930 in Modesto CA to Ben Walter and K. Dorothy (McKibben) Walter.  She joined an older sister, Ruth, and 2 older brothers, Frank and George.    Her younger sister Daisy joined the family a couple of years later.

She attended grade school near her parents’ home in Waterford, CA, and graduated from Oakdale High School in 1948.   During high school Fay played violin in the orchestra for 4 years and was a member of a sewing club.  After Graduation, during the summer of 1948, Fay and her family went to visit her grandparents in White Sulphur Springs, MT.  During this visit, Fay met the love of her life, James “Jim” Fuller at his place of work, a local gas station in White Sulphur Springs.  

They dated, kept a correspondence going when Fay returned home to California, and at the end of November 1948 Jim moved to California and they were engaged soon after.  They married on April 10, 1949 in Modesto, CA.  Shortly after their marriage, they returned to make their home in White Sulphur Springs In 1950.  When her husband was called into the army in January 1952, Fay worked doing odd jobs, and as a waitress in White Sulphur Springs, but soon followed Jim to where he was stationed in New Jersey.  She worked as a waitress there, and was pleasantly surprised to find that tipping was common there, something she had never experienced in Montana.  Her first day’s tips were $10.00, which was a big boost considering her daily pay was $3.00.  After New Jersey, Jim was stationed first at Huntsville, AL, and then to White Sands, New Mexico, with Fay moving along with him.  While at White Sands, they lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and then to El Paso, TX.  They returned to White Sulphur Springs in April of 1954, and started a family.  Their daughter Bonita Fay Fuller was born in 1955, and their son Ronald Fuller was born in 1957.  In April of 1957 Jim went to work for IBM, so the family moved first to Helena, and then to San Jose, CA, before returning to Helena.  While working for IBM the family also lived in  Cody Wyoming, and finally Billings, MT.  

In 1965 Fay and Jim purchased the Montana Motel in Whitehall, MT, which included an attached service station.  Jim ran the station and Fay ran the Motel.  While in Whitehall Fay established and ran the local Girl Scout troop.  

In June 1975 they returned to White Sulphur Springs, where they built a home and shop on ranch property that Jim’s family owned.   Fay volunteered at the Meagher County Historical Museum for nearly 20 years, and was active supporting the local library through the Friends of the Library program for a number of years.  She also started making quilts in her spare time, and would give them to family and friends as well as donating many to charitable organizations such as the Friends of the Library, Meagher County Senior Center, and the Hospital guild.  Fay loved family history, and spearheaded family reunions for nearly 30 years, starting with the first one in 1981.  In 2016, after nearly 60 years of marriage, Jim passed away.  After this, Fay moved into White Sulphur Springs, and spent the last few years as a resident of the Mountainvew Medical Center.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, and sister Ruth.  She is survived by her sister Daisy, children Bonita (Jim) Opie, Ronald (Vicki Jo) Fuller, and her grandchildren.

A Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, November 14, at Stevenson Wilke White Sulphur Springs Funeral Home at 1:00 PM with Public Visitation the hour prior. Following the service, Fay will be interred at the Mayn Cemetery.

Service Schedule

Visitation

Noon to 1:00 PM

Tuesday November 14, 2023

Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

103 Garfield St

White Sulphur Springs, MT

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Funeral Service

1:00 PM

Tuesday November 14, 2023

Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

103 Garfield St

White Sulphur Springs,

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Burial

Following the Funeral Service

Tuesday November 14, 2023

Mayn Cemetery

White Sulphur Springs,

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