Ladene Hughes

Ladene Mortensen Hughes passed away peacefully on Tuesday February 24, 2021 at an extended care facility, in Ronan, Montana. Ladene was 95 years old, she was born November 30, 1925 in Salem (Rexburg), Idaho. She enjoyed working beside her father on the family farm. She attended elementary school in Salem and graduated from Sugar-Salem High School in Sugar City, Idaho. She attended and graduated from LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

She met the love of her life, George Howard Hughes, Jr and were married in the Idaho Falls Temple, March 3, 1948.

She was employed by the U.S. Forest Service where she worked for 26 years as a purchasing agent and had many great friends and memories. After retirement she and Howard traveled the United States with friends. This group of friends would pull their 5th wheel trailers to many sights in the eastern US and Arizona.

Ladene was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served two missions with Howard. The first mission was to the St. George Temple Visitor Center and the second to the John Johnston Home Visitors Center in Kirkland, Ohio. Howard and Ladene enjoyed these missions very much.

She enjoyed playing card games with Howard and friends and all was great fun until the men would cheat and the women would win. She enjoyed gardening and making jams and cakes and pies from the fruit of her garden.

Ladene and Howard had two children, Kent (Rhoda) of Sugar City, Idaho and Saundra (Reed) Little of Polson, Montana. She has 13 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.

She is survived by 2 sisters, Vera (Dell) Raybold of Rexburg, Idaho and Rella Brown of Salt Lake City. She is preceded in death by her father, Forland Hyrum Mortensen and mother, Grace Birch, 2 sisters, Carma Ricks, Rosena Grace Palmer and a brother, Ted James Mortensen.

A viewing will be held Monday, March 1, 2021 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula, Montana. Interment will be at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery following the viewing at 3:00 pm.