Camilla Josephine Fox McCormick and John Thomas Vance
Camilla Josephine Fox McCormick
July 24, 2005
Missoulian
POLSON – Camilla Josephine Fox McCormick, 84, passed gently away on Feb. 7, 2005, surrounded by her daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren at her home in Polson.
Born Nov. 22, 1920, at the family home in Missoula, Camilla was the youngest daughter of Edna Fox McCormick Phillips and Washington Jay McCormick and sister to Angela and brother Jay.
A lifelong Montanan, Camilla’s early pioneer roots instilled a dedication to public service, civic activities, a passion for education, music, the arts, people and the land of her roots.
Her grandfather Washington Jay McCormick Sr. first arrived in Montana in 1863, served as secretary of the first Democratic convention held in 1864 and was a member of the territorial legislature. He came to Missoula in 1868 where he founded and edited Missoula’s first newspaper. He gave land in Missoula to the Catholic Church where St. Patrick Hospital and a school were established, and was instrumental in securing the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Missoula.
In 1869, he married Kate Higgins, sister of Capt. C.P. Higgins, a co-founder of Missoula. Following suit, Camilla’s father was Montana’s first representative to the U.S. Congress.
Camilla attended Catholic school in Missoula and after graduating from Hellgate High School, she attended William and Mary College, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She returned to the University of Montana to obtain her master’s degree in early childhood psychology and worked on her doctorate.
She married John Thomas Vance and for 20 years they enjoyed a full life of politics, community affairs and golf, raising their four daughters in Helena, Polson, the Big Hole Valley and the Washington, D.C., area before returning to Missoula.
Camilla was a founding member of the League of Women Voters in Montana, an early student and supporter at the Archie Bray Foundation, president of the Helena Symphony Board for eight years, a founding member of the first women’s investment group in Montana and longtime early childhood educator in New York, Washington, D.C., and Montana.
She was involved in numerous civic and charitable activities, including the Retired Senior Companion program and the Missoula hospice program. In her retirement she tutored special-needs students in the Missoula County Public Schools, assisted with the debate team program in Polson and volunteered with the Montana State Fiddlers.
Her pioneer roots instilled in her a passion for Montana and all her native people and treasures. She loved to share with others stories of the rich culture of Montana, search for arrowheads, and straddle the headwaters of the Missouri, read the journals of Lewis and Clark or Chief Joseph’s travels through western Montana.
She was an avid reader. She had a passion for the arts and nature, and was a gentle friend to all she met from every walk of life and every age group.
Her last years were spent in her home in Polson, where she was treated to music, stories, baseball games, great food, tender loving care, surrounded by cherished friends and family, and lively political discussions. Her passionate love for her grandchildren, first great-granddaughter and their friends strongly colored her later years. She devoted her life to teaching them the value of our native land and the responsibility to preserve it for future generations.
Survivors include her daughters, Margaret B. Vance of Missoula, Katherine McCormick Vance (Bruce Sewell) of Coweta, Okla., Angela F. Vance (Paul Pendery) of Polson and Mary Camilla D. Vance (Jeff Strange) of Portland, Ore.; former husband John T. Vance of Missoula and Washington, D.C.; grandchildren John C.P. Vance (Andrea) and great-granddaughter Taylor M. Vance, Elizabeth L.C. Vance-Kaye, Isabella M.B. Vance-Kaye, Grant C. Sewell, Emily A. Sewell, Kelsah C. Pendery, P. Ross Pendery and Charlotte K. Vance-Strange; her sister’s family, George F. Weisel Sr., niece Thula V. Weisel, nephew George F. Weisel; and many extended family members, friends and admirers.
She was an inspiration to all and dearly loved and admired in life. Her memory and contribution will be cherished.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, at the Missoula City Cemetery under the direction of Grogan Funeral Home of Polson. A reception time and location will be announced.
The family asks that the life of Camilla be remembered in contributions to the Sussex School Scholarship Fund, Missoula; the Archie Bray Foundation, Helena; or the Missoula or Polson hospice.
John Thomas Vance
By Helena Independent Record
Jun 15, 2008
John Thomas Vance III, 86, former chairman of the Indian Claims Commission, died Jan. 15, 2008, while residing at Emerson House in Portland, Ore. Always a gentleman and great friend, in both his professional and personal life, he was a fierce advocate for justice and respect for people of all different cultures and ages. With his infectious smile and twinkling eyes, he gave to those around him a wonderful sense of worth. His love for the environment was shared in his stories of working on the Glacier Park survey crew during college, flying over the Rocky Mountains, and sailing down the Chesapeake Bay.
Mr. Vance, son of John T. and Margaret Breckinridge Vance, was born in Lexington, Ky., and grew up in Chevy Chase, Md. He attended Western High School, graduating from Christchurch School in Virginia, before heading out to the Circle W Ranch, outside of Missoula. He attended the University of Montana, graduating after an interruption to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II as a forward observer for the 756 Unit in the Pacific.
He married Camilla Fox McCormick of Missoula, and they had four daughters. Mr. Vance graduated from George Washington University Law School, returning to practice law in Missoula and Helena with C.W. “Bill” Leaphart.
Active in all areas of civic and political life, he served as the Missoula Public Safety commissioner, counsel to the Montana Trade Commission and city attorney for Helena. Attaining the rank of colonial with the Civil Air Patrol, he served as the Rocky Mountain regional commander, flying numerous rescue missions in the northern Rockies and hosting groups of international Civil Air Patrol cadets from Peru, Turkey and Portugal.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Mr. Vance chairman of the Indian Claims Commission; under President Nixon, he was removed as chairman and continued to serve as a commissioner until it ceased to exist in 1978. His personal papers were donated to the University of Tulsa, Okla.
Mr. Vance was a noted expert representing native peoples in areas of tribal sovereignty, water rights and federal relations. His professional career included teaching law at the University of Toledo Law School in Ohio and at the University of Bridgeport Law School in Connecticut. While serving on the legal staff for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, he was instrumental in drafting the landmark Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). He retired from the committee in 1993, and joined the Semmes Law Office in Georgetown.
In 2001, the University Of Tulsa College of Law invited him to Tulsa as a resident scholar, working with Faye Hadley, Native American resources/reference law Librarian at the Mabee Legal Information Center.
Faye Hadley wrote: “Unfortunately, the Indian Claims Commission did not achieve its goals, but that was not due to the untiring efforts of John Vance. If it had been left up to John Vance, the Native people of this country would have been paid in full every cent that they are owed and I do believe that John would have found a way to return the sacred Black Hills to the Sioux Nation. His contribution to the cause of justice for Indians was unmatched.”
He returned to Montana in 2004, and then to Portland. His struggle to articulate his untiring efforts on behalf of Native people was ravaged by Alzheimer’s; in 2001, Mr. Vance wrote, “I hope we can all follow the trail that leads us once again to the land and the water.”
Mr. Vance was a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity, the Democratic Party, the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C., and various civic and charitable organizations that supported environmental and social justice causes.
The marriage of John and Camilla ended in divorce in 1969, and John became a single parent raising the three girls still at home. His life in Washington was full of school activities, sailing and time with his good friends, particularly Ann Satterthwaite, Washington D.C., civic activist.
Survivors include his four daughters, Margaret, Katherine (Bruce Sewell), Angela (Paul Pendery) and Mary (Jeffrey Strange); his aunt, Mrs. Henry (Peggy) Breckinridge; his sister-in-law, Martha Vance; eight grandchildren, John Vance, Kelsah Pendery, Grant Sewell, Elizabeth Vance-Kaye, Ross Pendery, Emily Sewell, Isabelle Vance-Kaye and Charlotte Strange; one great-granddaughter, Taylor Vance; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family will host a celebration of the life of John Vance at the Parrot in Helena on Monday, June 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. Internment will be in the Missoula City Cemetery.