Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
John 4:7 – 4:9
Introducing Jessie Billquist
Jessie is the Manager/Funeral Director – Mortician at Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Anaconda, Montana. Jessie was born and raised in Anaconda, so she learned to love the community early. Upon graduating from high school, she attended Montana Tech and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health. She then attended the University of Montana and earned a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy. Jessie was a pediatric physical therapist in private practice initially, but ultimately settled into her primary pediatric PT role as the Butte School District Physical Therapist. Here, she worked with children in the school setting on improving their gross motor skills and adapted the educational environment to meet their needs.
In 2011, Jessie became a Deputy Coroner in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County after she was urged by a family friend to apply for the position because of her strong medical background and her rapport with the public. Jessie had always been interested in forensics and felt this would be a great way to build her knowledge in the area. During her time as a Deputy Coroner, she became involved with the 
International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and the Montana Coroner’s Association: she currently sits on the Board of Directors of both of those organizations. Jessie also became the first Coroner in Montana to earn her Diplomat Certification as a Medicolegal Death Investigator through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. In 2017, Jessie was hired as the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Coroner. In her work through the Coroner’s Office, she regularly interacted with funeral directors in her area and across the state and was able to see firsthand the positive impact that caring and empathetic funeral directors made on families during such difficult times in their lives. Seeing the impact these funeral directors had on families and knowing that a need existed for more funeral directors in Montana, and in her area, Jessie was compelled to return to school and earn her degree in Mortuary Science. She graduated from Arapahoe Community College in May of 2021. Jessie began her career as a Funeral Director/Mortician at the Stevenson & Sons Butte location, Axelson Funeral and Cremation Services. When the Stevenson’s purchased Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home in Anaconda in 2022, Jessie moved to that location to be the managing Funeral Director/Mortician. For Jessie, this was her dream come true as she had always hoped that she would be able to return to Anaconda and care for the families in the community where she was born and raised.
As a funeral director, Jessie feels privileged to be able to serve families in the community where she was born and raised, along with the surrounding areas, by providing them with compassion, support and understanding during their time of need. It is her honor to assist families in planning personalized and meaningful funerals and services, and to care for their loved ones.
Below is a brief photo album, which we hope will help you get to know Jessie a little better.
A Meaningful Celebration of Life
Vanessa Gruba, Funeral Director for Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City, Montana, recently arranged for a very memorable celebration of the life of Keith Arnold. Keith drove the ‘big rigs’ with his 4-pawed co-pilot, Elgin – shown in the photo album below in his stylish sunglasses signature Mohawk haircut. Keith was born and raised in Miles City and drove for All in Trucking. The owner of All in Trucking, Chris, attended the event and delivered some very kind and moving words about Keith and his devoted sidekick. Chris also awarded Keith with All in Trucking’s TOP DRIVER AWARD – and even had a special decal made for Keith’s casket. PS In case you were wondering, Elgin’s Mohawk hair style was his personal look – and the color was changed monthly.
Supporting Others
If you know someone who would benefit from the uplifting messages and support information we provide in these monthly newsletters, they can sign up to receive their own copy here (https://stevensonandsons.com/news/sign-up/). It’s a great way to lend your support to a friend or a family member.
Financial Assistance
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. We are dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.
Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020…
If you lost a loved one due to Covid-19, you may qualify for financial assistance for your family’s funeral expenses. Click here to find out more information.
Recently posted on the FEMA Covid-19 Funeral Assistance page: The COVID-19 incident period ended on May 11, 2023. FEMA will continue to provide funeral assistance until Sept. 30, 2025, to those who have lost loved ones due to this pandemic.
Grief Support
Many people do not have the time to locate a proper grief counselor. Others do not live in an area where there are any grief counselors available. And finally, many people are not prepared to pay a professional for grief counseling. Fortunately, the internet provides some solutions for those who wish to seek grief counseling or to interact with groups of people who are also coping with grief. Many such services exist, as do professional counselors who will assist people privately on line, hence eliminating the need for travel. Not all services are the same, nor are all chat rooms/groups. You should research what you are interested in and follow-up on the leads you believe will be most helpful to your personal situation until you locate exactly what works best for you. In your search engine look for terms like “grief chat rooms” “bereavement support groups” “professional grief counseling” or “grief management.” Good research is the path to successfully linking up with what, or who, will work the best for you. Another option would be to start your search at the Mental Health American website. Lots of information, and many places to research groups, centers and more.
