Chester (Chet) McBride

Together Again



On Friday, February 22, 2008 Chester (Chet) Mc Bride, was reunited with his eternal companion, Juanita Lewis Mc Bride. Chet was born on May 14, 1917 at Akeley, Minnesota, in a farmhouse near a little town called Chamberlain, population 9. He was the second of four children. His family lived on farms near Tower City, North Dakota most of his youth. When he was about 4 years old their farm was wiped out by a cyclone that took not only the crops, but also the house, the barn, and all of the other buildings. They survived because their Mother put them in a trunk under the stairs in the basement. They then moved to another farm and started over.



Chet always loved music. When he was 13 years old, he started playing his trumpet for dances. When he was 17, he played trumpet in the North Dakota State Band at the 1934 Chicago World Fair. After High School, Chet played in the J. Gould Circus band for two seasons. In 1940 he left North Dakota in his Model A Ford and traveled to Westwood, California. There he met his future wife Juanita Lewis. They married and had one daughter Nita. Throughout the years from then until 2003 they lived in northern California in Westwood, Humboldt county, and Redding areas.



Chet always enjoyed music and played in bands along with his regular jobs. Favorite hobbies through the years, besides the trumpet, were golfing, fishing, raising tropical fish, snow skiing, and hunting. He also had a pilots license and enjoyed flying. He worked most of his life as a heavy equipment and automotive parts man. After retirement he continued to play in bands. Until 2003 Chet still played in a band at Senior Care Homes. Chet was always positive and loving. He will be greatly missed by his family and many others.



In 2003 Chet and Juanita moved to Utah with his daughter and son-in-law. His beloved companion, Juanita, passed away in 2004. Chester is survived by his daughter, Nita (Neal) Thomsen; seven grandchildren, Mark Thomsen, Katrina (Dave) Harlan, Paul (Theresa) Thomsen, Kara (Donald) Morris, Kimberly Thomsen, Becky (David) Ransom, and Barbara (Justin) Lowe; twenty great grandchildren; and his sister Betty Nohr.



Chet was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Juanita Lewis Mc Bride, and one brother and sister.



Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. in the Mapleton White Church, 31 West Maple. Friends may call at a viewing held that morning from 11 .m. to noon at the church. Burial will take place in the Westwood California Cemetery.