Marion Badovinus Kirwan Colman

Marion Badovinus Kirwan Colman died January 5, 2022, in Bozeman, MT. She was born on August 5, 1923, in Roundup, MT, the youngest child of Croatian immigrants, Mary and Nick Badovinus. Several years of Marion’s childhood were spent on a ranch in the Bull Mountains where her parents raised white-faced Hereford cattle and tried to make a living as the Great Depression raged across the country. Marion finished her formal education at Billings Senior High School.



Marion worked hard all her life. She started earning money as a young teenager cleaning houses and taking care of other people’s children. When she was 17, she partnered with a husband-and-wife team traveling the state selling house siding. At a dinner club in Lewistown a handsome young man asked Marion to dance. That young man was Louis Joseph Kirwan. They married in September 1941 and moved to the Gallatin Valley where Louis worked for the Milwaukee Railroad. In the early 1960s, Marion started working in downtown Bozeman. She began selling ladies’ ready-to-wear at the Diana Shop and by the time she retired in 1988 she was the manager of Conrad’s department store on Main Street in downtown Bozeman.



Marion was an accomplished seamstress. She sewed beautiful clothing for her children and wardrobes for her daughters’ dolls. She made hundreds of rag dolls ranging from the traditional Raggedy Ann and Andy to ballerinas, fishermen, firemen, and even an Elvis doll. Quilting and crocheting were among her talents. Marion spent uncountable hours planting, weeding, and harvesting a vast garden. She canned everything that could possibly be canned. Having plenty of food for her growing family was very important to her.



Marion and Louis had seven “perfect” (Marion always said) children. For most of their life together, Marion and Louis lived in Bozeman, MT. Louis died in May 1969.



In October 1977, Marion married Kenneth L. Colman, a widower with five children. Marion and Ken moved to a townhouse in Billings in 1992. They joined the flock of Montana snowbirds and wintered in Arizona for more than a dozen years. Marion loved Arizona in the wintertime. She and Ken went dancing every Saturday night in their community’s clubhouse. Because of Ken’s involvement with the Knights of Columbus, they were able to travel to KC events across the country. Marion met several very good friends on those trips, who made the formal dinners and dances all the better. Ken died in August 2010.



Throughout her life, Marion had a positive outlook, and even in very dark times said that “things will work out.” Marion was many things – daughter, sister, aunt, wife, grandmother – but the most important to her was being a mother. She frequently said, “My children are my life.” She was a most wonderful person who will be cherished in the hearts of all who loved her.



Marion was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, by her husbands Louis and Ken. She is survived by her seven children and their spouses: Mary Karen and Burt Newmark, Peter Michael and Sue Kirwan, Katherine Ann and Richard Aldrich, Pamella Marie and Roy Warner, Patrick Louis Kirwan, Thomas Joseph and Karen Kirwan, Ann Elizabeth and Jim Peters. She is also survived by her stepchildren and their spouses: Betty and Larry Mullette, Bob and Eileen Colman, Carol Buchel, Kenneth and Rose Colman, Annette and Nilo Cabrera. Also surviving her are her 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren, nine step grandchildren, and six step great grandchildren, her nephews Jeffrey Giesick and Gary Badovinus and nieces Joanna Giesek and Kitty Ann Taaler.



Marion will be honored in a Graveside Ceremony on Saturday, January 15, at 11:00AM at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman, MT. A Viewing will be available from 9:00AM to 10:30AM at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service, 300 Highland Blvd, Bozeman, MT, with a Reception to follow the Graveside back at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service.



A Celebration of Marion’s Life will be held on her 99th birthday, August 5, 2022.