Elise Donohue

Donohue, Elise Rosenberry (b. July 9th, 1937) of Clyde Park, Montana passed away peacefully while surrounded by family on May 21st, 2015. She was preceded in death by her mother, Sarah-Maud Weyerhaeuser Sivertsen and her father, Walter S. Rosenberry, Jr. and by her brothers Walter and Charley. She is survived by her children Edward (Beverly) Phares of Athens, Georgia; Elise Phares of Bozeman, Montana; and Robert (Robin) Phares of Big Timber, Montana; her sister, Lucy (Jim) Jones of Wayzata, Minnesota; and five grandchildren: Rob Phares, Anne (Bill) Anderson, John Phares, Lauren Phares and Lucy Phares; her first husband Robert (Peg) Phares of Denver, Colorado and her step-father, Robert Sivertsen of St. Paul, Minnesota; and friends and extended family too numerous to mention. All fondly remember a woman whose life was characterized both by the breadth but also the depth of her relationships from the Clyde Park Cow Belles to the Vassar Club of New York City. Present in all things were both her love of the land rooted in over forty years of cattle ranching in Montana and her deep appreciation for ideas, the arts and the life of the mind recognized in her being awarded an honorary doctorate from Montana State University and service on the board of Minnesota Public Radio. All who met Elise sensed a soul as deep and rich as the soil of her native Minnesota and a spirit as vast as the big sky of her adopted Montana. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Thursday, May 28th at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, St Paul preceded by private interment at Oakland Cemetery. An additional service will be held in Bozeman, Montana at a later date. Memorials may be directed to Minnesota Public Radio or Montana State University.