Mary Georgia (Nagengast) Davison passed away on January 5, 2020 after a valiant two year fight with cancer.  Mary was a devoted and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt to her very large family whom she loved very much. There will be a Rosary for Mary at 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 10, 2020. Her Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 11, 2020, both services will be held at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Memorial donations in Mary's name may be made to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Chouteau County Peace Hospice, Chouteau County Hospital Foundation, or the Fort Benton School Foundation. Benton Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

Mom was born on November 12, 1934 at St Clare Hospital in Fort Benton, Montana to Clement and Ethel Nagengast and lived on a farm east of Fort Benton.  She was the oldest of eight children and attended elementary school at the Elem School near the family farm. She loved her life on the farm and moved with the family to town where she graduated high school in1952. Mom was the very first Homecoming Queen for Fort Benton High School and enjoyed singing in the choir.  She went on to attend the College of Great Falls, where she received an Associate degree in 1954.

Mom married dad, Theodore (Ted) Davison of Highwood, Montana on July 9, 1956 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Benton (now known as "the old church").  They were married for fourteen years until Ted was killed in a tragic collision on October 20, 1970.   In those fourteen years the couple started their own large family of seven children and moved many times around Chouteau County.

Mary's devotion to her children will long be remembered. She was often called" A Saint" by her kid's friends as they knew how much she did for them. At the time of Ted's death in 1970, her youngest child was 2 years of age and her oldest was 13.

Mom was an employee of the Fort Benton School District for 24 years, beginning as school secretary for Bill Johnstone in 1954 and she worked until 1957 when her first child was born and then again in 1959-1960.  After Ted died, she returned to the work she loved again at the school and worked until 1996 when she retired.

Mom was very devoted to her local community, especially her church and the schools.  She was involved in her church education program for 21 years.  She was a Key Club Advisor from 1984 to 1994, Treasurer of the Community Improvement Association (CIA) 1993-2003, Cub Scout Reporter, an active parent for the Fort Benton Swim team for 20 years, a Parish Council member for 18 years, and was involved with the Altar Society or parish women's group since 1955.  In 1985, with no surprise to us, mom was selected as Montana Mother of the Year, an honor that allowed her to attend the conference of mothers in New York City with mothers from all of the 50 states.

Raising seven children, and much of that as a single parent, Mom spent the majority of her time devoted to them. She was involved in most of their activities and attended every game, concert or performance she could.  As a parent raising teens, she spent many a night praying the rosary for the safety of her kids.  Being on a limited income Mom raised her children with a good Catholic faith, a strong work ethic, and take pride in what they did.  All of her kids began working at an early age and graduated from college.  She wanted to see her children flourish in their careers and family lives. After her kids graduated college and scattered all over the world, Mary loved to travel to visit her children and grandchildren and she enjoyed every minute of it.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ted, her sister Maxine Shiver, her brothers Jerome and Richard (Angela – deceased).

Mary is survived by her seven children, Patrick Davison of Butte, MT, Natalie Davison Knudsen (Don Knudsen) of Medford, OR, Matthew Davison (Barbara Kemp) of Billings, MT, Michael Davison (Brigitte Franken) of Bozeman, MT, Jeffrey Davison (Rona Laubach) of Bozeman, MT, Peter Davison (Suzanne Reichstein) of South Pasadena, CA, and Andrew Davison (Tracey Smith) of Inman, South Carolina.  Mary had 16 grandchildren (Holly, Hanna, Lillian, Vincent, Louis, Malcolm, Joel, Olivia, Noah, Isobel, Gabriel, Sophia, Caleb, Ellie, Cora, Brooke, and Kaylee), four step grandchildren and ten step great grandchildren. She is also survived by her

sisters Patricia Bolstad (Jens – deceased), Leone Cloepfil (John), Marilynn Uhart (Jim), and her brother Charles Nagengast (Linda) and numerous nieces and nephews

Mary will be dearly missed by all of her family and friends. She enjoyed a long and beautiful life sharing her love of life and the Lord with her family and all those who came to know her.

Mary learned to take things one day at a time, trust in the good Lord, and in her words has worn out the expression "We'll Play it by Ear".