Crash claims life of Yaak business owner

The 54-year-old woman who died in a motorcycle crash near the Yaak on Sunday afternoon was Sheila Higgins Markley, former owner of the Golden Nugget Bar and Grill, Markley’s family confirmed Monday night.

Montana Highway Patrol trooper Tony Jenson said the crash occurred at about 4.30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon as Markley was travelling south on Highway 508. She was airlifted to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene but later died due to injuries sustained in the crash. No other vehicles were involved, Jenson said. Markley was riding alongside her fiancee Jimmy Jones when her motorcycle crashed, her family said, and Jones was with her when she died.

On Monday, Markley’s sister Sharon Adams said that she, Jones and Markley’s mother Judith Gorman were overwhelmed by the condolences that poured in from around the country.

“We’ve been stunned by the people who have contacted us on the phone and via Facebook,” Adams said. “Hundreds of people from Texas, Alaska, Washington, Montana. Sheila was a true phenomena.”

Gorman described her daughter as the most generous person. She said her daughter was born on “cruise night” in Van Nuys, Calif. and taught herself to surf in Malibu before leaving California for Arizona and then Alaska, and then moving with her late husband to the Yaak.

Markley owned the Golden Nugget in the Yaak until it burned down on February 12, 2014.

Adams said her sister had the Harley Davidson she was riding during the crash for only about a week.

“Sheila loved hard, worked hard and played hard,” Adams said. “She was a wild child. But she was funny, witty and very loving.”

Markley had been planning a trip with her mother up the California coast to celebrate their birthdays in August. Adams said the family was still planning to do that trip. Adams said she plans to release some of her sister’s ashes in the Pacific and some in the Troy and Yaak areas that she loved.

John Runkle, owner of the Dirty Shame Saloon in the Yaak, and the third person on the scene following Sunday’s crash, said Markley was a good friend to many and was a well-known personality in the Yaak. 

A memorial service will be held for Markley at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at Roosevelt Park in Troy,