Cletta May Pickens

Cletta May Pickens passed away at her home on May 9th, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was swept away on the wings of a hummingbird on her way to heaven.

Mom was born on August 25, 1942, in Whitehall, MT to Walter and Carnolia Redman. When she arrived into this world, even the doctor and his wife wanted to adopt her. They were unable to have children of their own. He said to her parents” You have several children at home already; we will pay any amount of money that you want for her”. Grandma and Grandpa declined the offer and took mom home. They later added two more little girls to their family, making their “Great Eight”.

As a young girl their family moved from town to town with grandpa working on several ranches and various other jobs throughout the great state of Montana. Once her parents settled in Missoula, Mom met the love of her life, Terry Pickens. Little did she know that after a short three months of courting she would become a young bride at the tender age of sixteen.

On November 17, 1958, Mom and Dad were married in Ronan, MT. Her sister Dorothy and husband Pete were their witnesses. After living in several towns across Montana, Mom and Dad settled in Missoula where Dad still resides. Two years after they were married, they were blessed by a little bundle of joy, their daughter Carrie May. After another two years, Carrie gained a perfect little brother, Terry Dennis Jr.

Along with being a very loving Wife, Mom wore many hats throughout her life. She worked as a Nurses Aid and a Custodian for most of her adult life. The most important hats that she wore were the ones of being a Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother “Nana” and Auntie.

In 1988 Mom and Dad became the legal guardians of their two nephews, Wes and Michael Elensky, after their parents Marge and Dick passed away. Once these two brothers got married, they started their families and gave Mom and Dad three great nieces and a great nephew.

Mom made many lifelong friends along the way. She cherished each and every one of them, enjoying every lunch and outing they shared.

Many weekends were spent camping and fishing with family and friends. Mom loved to fish almost as much as she loved cooking them over an open fire. She enjoyed outdoor cooking rain or shine. There was one specific time Mom even stood in the rain frying chicken for all of us.

She also loved her flowers and hummingbirds, but she was always upset when they didn’t show up to eat from her feeders. She took pride in keeping an immaculate yard and house, never leaving the house with even one dirty coffee cup in the sink.

One of her fondest memories is when she was able to go to Hawaii with her daughter Carrie May and daughter-in-law Sandra Lynn. They all got matching necklaces to mark the occasion. Mom and Sandy also shared a special moment when they took a helicopter ride over the Maui coastline. Another special memory was when she went to Vegas with Carrie, Sandy and Amber Leigh to celebrate Amber’s 21st birthday.

She often would go outside with her grandson Casey, whom she had a very special bond with and shoot hoops. They were buddies until the end!

She also cherished the vacations that she and Dad went on. The ones to Vegas, Reno, Jackpot and Oregon were some of her favorite times spent with Dad.

Cletta is survived by her husband of almost 67 years, Terry Pickens Sr. Daughter Carrie and husband Bruce Coensgen. son Terry Jr. and wife Sandy Pickens; nephew Wes and wife Geana Elensky and their daughters Megan and Lexi, nephew Michael and wife Carrie Elensky and their children Addy and John; granddaughter Amber Leigh and husband AJ French and their sons Wayne and Charlie, grandson Casey and wife Amber Clark; sister Ann Watson and brother-in-law Carl Ask.

She is also survived by many, many other nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins who were all very special to her. She was a grandma to many other children that were not even related by blood, a grandma to all. She will be greatly missed by everyone that knew her.

Cletta was preceded in death by her parents Walter and Carnolia Redman; siblings Lawrence, Lyle, Evelyn, Dorothy, Violet and Margaret and various other nieces and nephews.

We would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to the TREK Hospice Team, Bobbi, Kayla and Susan, as they helped us and our Dad take care of Mom.

Rest in peace Mom, we love you.