Former Libby resident honored on her 102nd birthday

Flesher's family moved around eastern Montana as her father found work during the Great Depression, living for a time near Fort Peck, where he worked on a dam project. Flesher is known to share stories of the extreme cold and other hardships the workers and their families endured in the shanty towns along the railroad. Her father was often absent as he traveled for work. Her mother found work cooking at cafes and ranches.

Flesher was 17 when she graduated from high school in Harlem, Montana, in 1939. High school is where she met her future husband, Irvin James Flesher, and the two were always sweethearts. They married Aug. 4, 1943, in Libby, Montana, where they lived for most of their 68-year marriage. They raised four children who are now in Idaho, Washington and Montana. Irvin James passed in 2011. He was 91.

Alice Flesher has 13 grandchildren and numerous great-grand- and great-great-grandchildren.

After high school, Flesher had to wait until she was 18 to enter nursing school in Havre, Mont. She trained in a rigorous program at the Sacred Heart Hospital, run and taught by Franciscan nuns. She graduated in 1944 and joined the Army Nurse Corps in February 1945. She served at Dibble General Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., through the end of the war in November 1945. Her husband enlisted in the Army 10 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and he served throughout the war as a crew chief on a B-47 supply plane. He was a staff sergeant, a lower rank than his wife.

Alice Flesher entered the Army Nursing Corps as a second lieutenant — no basic training required. Her daughter, Paula Neils, said this was done to help protect women against harassment from male officers. Flesher worked mostly with burn patients who suffered horrific injuries while serving in the Pacific theater.

"She describes an interesting burn treatment technique of growing graft skin by attaching an arm or hand to the patient’s abdomen and harvesting the skin that grew between them," Neils said.

After the war, Flesher worked as a surgical nurse for nearly 30 years. She and Jim were avid square and round dancers, before and after retirement.

When she finally retired in the mid-1980s, Alice Flesher taught herself how to oil paint. Many of her paintings now adorn her room at the Veterans Home.

Flesher's great-grandson, Lance Gifford, said it's cool how much his great-grandmother has accomplished in her lifetime.

“It’s kind of crazy to think of all that happened in just 100 years," he said. "Thinking of how different life was and how different my life is going to be from hers.”

Grandson Lucas Sather, who attended the party with wife Dawn and their 8-month-old daughter, Kinsley, said it was heartwarming to see his grandmother honored for her service.

“I’m proud of my grandma for her accomplishments in life, and to still be here at 102," he said. "That’s pretty impressive.”

Another grandson, Hauser Fire Chief James Neils, said his grandma has always been there for him.

“My grandma and grandpa, they’re just a solid piece of my life," he said. "Growing up, we traveled together, we went camping.”

When they traveled around in their motorhome, they would stay at his property when they came through town, he said.

James Neils' wife of 25 years, Chandra Neils, said his grandma is amazing.

“She taught me to knit, and when we were first married we would go swing dancing with them,” she said with a laugh. “It was super fun.”

“And we didn’t keep up,” James said, smiling.

“I was so exhausted,” Chandra added. “They could dance all night.”