Dora Mahood blessed Big Sandy by distributing $400,000 for various causes throughout the town. Everyone deserves acknowledgment when the Big Sandy Mountaineer runs obituaries, and I don’t know the person I read about them. Dora Frieda Mahood, 94, passed away on October 10, 2023, and we ran her obituary. I now wish I had an opportunity to visit with her.
Dora Mahood gave back in a big way to her hometown. She donated $400,000 in total. The Big Sandy School was given $50 K, and you can read about that in a separate article about that donation in this paper.
The rest of the gifts were divided among different organizations. The Big Sandy Cemetery received 50K. Heather Pleninger said, “We are meeting on the 18th with the board of directors to decide the future of the funds. Ideas that will be discussed: Cameras because we have had some vandalism in years past, it would be nice to curb that. The gate needs to be repainted, too. We have been adding gravel to some of the older plots and working on getting the senior side back up to par. That is a difficult task with the lack of water, and the soil is so poor up there.”
Three churches received 16.7K each: The Christ Lutheran, The Rohrer United Methodist Church, and the Saint Margaret Mary’s Catholic Church. The Big Sandy Historical Museum received 50K. The American Legion Auxiliary and the American Legion Post both each received 25K. The Big Sandy Library received 50K. The Big Sandy’s pool received 50K, and the Big Sandy Medical Center received 50K.
Although we had Dora’s obit in the paper, in light of her extraordinary gift to our community, maybe everyone would like to know her better, have an appreciation for what she has done, and maybe understand some of her reasoning.
“Dora was born on September 22, 1929 to Anna Dallman Goecks Knutson and Walter Fredrich Goecks. The family moved to Grandpa Goecks farm out at Kennilworth during the Depression, but moved back to Big Sandy when Dora started school. Her father died in an accident working on the Loma bridge in 1936. Her mother remarried Melford Knutson in 1938.
Growing up, Dora enjoyed school. Music was her favorite and she was the drum majorette for band as well as taught twirling. She worked at Northern Montana Bank for six years after graduation. She also taught sewing lessons for 4-H and Red Cross life-saving classes at the community swimming pool in the summer.
She married Jack Mahood Jr. in 1950. They moved to Great Falls in 1961, where she participated in many activities, especially in the art community. Dora and Jack were well known as western art collectors. Dora also loved to golf and taught lessons at the country club in Great Falls. She also taught bridge lessons in her home, known for her excellence in the game. She was talented in many areas of sewing, knitting, and crocheting, and even sold many of the items she had made.
Dora owned many cocker spaniels over the years. Her last dog, Mollie, was her constant companion after the death of her husband in 2007.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; sisters, Delores (Deane) Courtnage and Dorothy (Ernie) Geyer; and brother, Clifford (Cathy) Knutson.
Dora is survived by her nieces, Penny Courtnage McLean, Debra Courtnage (Steve) Braach, Holly Knutson (Donny) Holmlund, and Sarah Knutson (Mike) Magee, as well as nephews, Jerry (Darlene) Smithers and Lyle (Beth) Courtnage.
