Page 215 - 2019 Russell Catalogue

in Memoriam
DOROTHY JEAN DUTT MCKAY
1927–2018
Longtime C.M. Russell Museum patron and docent Dorothy Jean Dutt McKay loved Great Falls and all of Montana. Her passion for Western art, Charlie Russell, and the C.M. Russell Museum gave her an amazing outlet for her love of learning and interacting with the public.
Dorothy Jean was honored in 2016 as a recipient of the prestigious Josephine Trigg Award, the highest award presented by the C.M. Russell Museum. In her acceptance speech, she recounted meeting Miss Trigg, who was the children’s librarian, when she helped Dorothy Jean pick out her first library book at the Great Falls Public Library.
In 2001, Dorothy Jean and her brother, Gordon R. Dutt, gifted their personal collection of ten wood carvings by famed Montana artist John L. Clarke to the C.M. Russell Museum in memory of their parents, Dr. Gordon A. and Fleda Thurston Dutt. This collection includes carvings of Montana wildlife animals and a bust of a Native
American man wearing a feather bonnet and a necklace. Among many notable collectors were Charles M. Russell, a close friend, and admirer of John L. Clarke and his artworks, and Russell’s protégé, Joe De Yong.
Dorothy Jean’s early childhood years were spent in Des Moines, Iowa; Choteau, Montana; and at the Sun River Ranch outside of Great Falls. She was educated in the Great Falls public school system and graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Dorothy Jean later moved to Salinas, California, and enjoyed a rewarding career as a physical education teacher. Upon her marriage to John McKay, the couple lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for many years and eventually settled in Great Falls when they retired.
WERNER H. QUASEBARTH
1931–2019
C.M. Russell Museum Board of Directors member Werner H. Quasebarth of Fairfax, Virginia, originally served on the museum's National Advisory Board. He was a longtime member of the Charlie Russell Riders. Werner and his wife, Elaine, attended the dedication of the Russell Riders Sculpture Garden on the
grounds of the C.M. Russell Museum in July 2012.
At that time, five major life-size bronze wildlife sculptures were dedicated.
The collection has since been expanded with additional acquisitions. The Sculpture Garden was a vision and project of the long-standing Charlie Russell Riders Foundation, and it is open year-round to the public.
Charming everyone he met with the lively twinkle of his blue eyes, Werner was known for his sense of adventure and story-telling. He served in the United States Coast Guard and was dedicated to an active life of service through his leadership in many industry and community organizations.
Werner retired as the CEO of Atlas Machine and Iron Works, Inc., in Virginia, which his father had founded. Atlas engineered, fabricated, and constructed heavy metal weldments for steel bridges, complex multi-story buildings, and nuclear power plants. Most notably, the company participated in the construction of the World Trade Center in New York City, which was the hallmark of Werner’s career and a source of pride to the many highly qualified engineers and steel workers at Atlas.