Our Guiding Light, Angel, Mentor, and Friend earned her wings and has gone home to be with family and Our Heavenly Father.   Virginia "Gin" Salazar passed away peacefully with her family at her side on Sunday afternoon, February 23, 2025.

Gin was born on March 11, 1933, in Yakima, Washington to Theodore and Louise (Barrett) Jones.  At the age of 6, he family moved to Montana and lived at the Boaz Mine.  Years later, they settled in Harrison, Montana.  Mom graduated from Harrison High in 1951.  She was the class President and Valedictorian.

She married Max Salazar, Jr. and together they raised 15 children, 9 girls and 6 boys.  They went on to have 32 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, with another on the way, and 3 great great-grandchildren, with another on the way.

For the most part she was a homemaker, den mother, and troop leader.  She worked various jobs over the years, but the most steady was catering for more than 20 years.  Along with many weddings, funerals, and parties of all kinds.  She was most famous for her corned beef and cabbage meal at the Knights of Columbus on St. Paddy's Day from between 1982 and 2002.  She cooked thousands of pounds of corned beef. She fed many hundreds of party people!  She was also the gravy maker for the LaVerne Combo Thanksgiving Dinner from 2001 until 2019.

Mom had a life well lived.  She traveled twice to Europe, also Alaska, Hawaii, and our nations capitol in Washington D.C.  She followed her children and grandchildren all over Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, and North Carolina as they graduated from High School and college.  She loved rooting for them at sporting activities, such as football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track, and swimming, as well as musical concerts and plays.  She looked forward to Tuesday outings with her daughters to movies until she could no longer see the screen clearly.  We had a lot of laughs at our many Mother-Daughter dinners until it became difficult for her to get around with a walker.

Thanks to her daughters, mom was able to remain in her own home, as she always wished.  Thanks also to Dr. Kate McGree for being her primary caregiver until Trek Healthcare was asked to step in and help us to meet mom's medical needs.

Mom was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Ted; husband, Max Jr.; sons: Tim, Mark. and Steve; sons-in-law, Rick Michaelis, Dan Fawcett; daughter-in-law, Faye Salazar; grandchildren, Andrea, Mike, and Mark Salazar, Jr., Casey Boyle, and Ryan O'Leary; and great-grandchildren, Willow Rae and Koby Hawke.

She is survived by her sister, Eileen; children, Mike (Lou) Salazar, Tony (Leah) Salazar, Tracy Michaelis, Terry Salazar,  Pam (Randy) O'Leary, Peggy (Bernie) Boyle, Patty, and Kerry (Greg) O'Leary, all of Butte, Jenny Fawcett Max (Melissa) Salazar III of Anchorage, Alaska, and Kelly (Chris) Ward and Jackie (Tom) Kingston of Femley, Nevada.  She is also survived by her grandchildren, Tara Hawke: David, Sean, and Stacey Salazar, Chris Michaelis, Eric and Sean O'Leary: Dan, Tom, and Matt Boyle, Nicole Hill, Brian Rigby, Allesandra Adams, Mandy Kelly: Steven, Killian, Carrick, and Lucy O'Leary: Conrad and Nora Fawcett: Grace and Georgia Ward. Max Salazar IV, Megan Rossback: and Ellie, Erica, and Carson Kingston; as well as, her great grandchildren and great great-grandchildren.

Rest in Peace, mom.  You've earned it!

Relatives and friends may call from 10:00am to 11:00am Wednesday July 2, in St. Patrick's Church for visitations.  Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00am In St. Patrick's Church.   In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Casey Boyle Memorial Scholarship Fund at Butte Central, the Burgman/Boyle Scholarship Fund at Mountain West Federal Credit Union, Trek Healthcare, or the Belmont Senior Center.