BUTTE, MONTANA
Reader's Digest US|October 2024
TO SEE THE BEST OF BUTTE, Montana, all Joyce O'Bill has to do is look out her front window at the gleaming white Virgin Mary on the mountain.
Bill Hangley Jr.
BUTTE, MONTANA

"I look out every morning and say hi," she says.

Perched high on a ridge outside of town, the massive statue known as Our Lady of the Rockies (or just Our Lady to locals) can be seen from almost everywhere in this famously hardworking city. Bob O'Bill built it as a tribute to his wife while she battled cancer. While Joyce was hard at work beating the disease, her husband's modest vision of a 5-foot front-yard statue was blossoming into a 90-foot mountaintop memorial to both family and motherhood.

"Bob said, 'I'm not religious, but I've got a lot of faith," says Joyce. "I tell everybody that it doesn't have so much to do with me, or religion. It's for all mothers."

Joyce ended up outliving Bob: He passed away in 2016, and she's still going strong at 90. So strong, in fact, that she drives twice weekly to the Butte Emergency Food Bank to give back to the community that has given so much to her.

"I started 31 years ago, and kept going and going. I'm the old one there," she says. "When we started, it was only four of us. Now we have 60 or 70 volunteers."

It's people like her who inspire Lorraine Hamry most. A retired banker and Butte native, Hamry started volunteering at the Butte Emergency Food Bank a decade ago and is now its director.

"I've absolutely fallen in love with it. I had no idea how much Butte gives back," says Hamry. "People in Butte are so proud. They think everybody should know where Butte is. It's not 'Butte, Montana,' it's 'Butte, America."

Founded in 1864 and once the largest city in the West, Butte has always been a rugged place. Joyce O'Bill still remembers when the local high school got its first turf field.

"The kids played on rocks and dirt for years," she says. "When they finally put in grass for the football field, we thought we were big time."

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM READER'S DIGEST USView all
Election Day Memories - Stories about voting by the people, for the people
Reader's Digest US

Election Day Memories - Stories about voting by the people, for the people

A Convincing Argument When my boyfriend and I were finally old enough to vote in our first presidential election, we spent months debating with one another about our chosen candidates. We were quite persuasive, as we discovered when we got home from the polls and learned that we'd both voted for the other's initial choice.―SHERRY FOX Appleton, WI

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Reader's Digest US

A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar

Who can benefit from this wearable technology

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
A Flag for Dad
Reader's Digest US

A Flag for Dad

An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
Reader's Digest US

Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime

These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
Reader's Digest US

...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK

ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
Reader's Digest US

Yes, There's a Museum for That!

These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
Town Meeting Is Called!
Reader's Digest US

Town Meeting Is Called!

Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
Just Tight
Reader's Digest US

Just Tight

Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Reader's Digest US

WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
Reader's Digest US

MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS

The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024