Madelyn Punkin

Fort Hall Madelyn Kaka Punkin, 81, "cruised," as she would say herself, passed away peacefully at her home in Fort Hall, Idaho, surrounded by her loved ones. Madelyn was born to Wallace No-Sun Kaka and Annie Hope Kaka, January 27, 1936, in a traditional manner under the poplar and cottonwood trees, very near where she built her final home. Madelyn was the tso of Ehe-gande, Chief Egan of the Malheur Reservation, Oregon. Ehe-gande fought until his death, marking the closure of the Bannock War, 1878. She was also preceded in death by: her parents Annie Hope and No-Sun Kaka, her maternal grandparents Charlie Hope and Lucy Use, and her paternal grandparents William Kaka and Amadee, daughter of Ehe-Gande, and her brothers and sisters. Madelyn is survived by: her husband Doyle R. Punkin, daughter Sheryl Lynn Slim, granddaughter Shaylee Hope Reyes and husband Nicky and great-grandchildren Isaac and Aaliyah, grandson Derek No-Sun Brown, grandson Nolan Daris Brown and wife Jerrica and great-grandchild Jaya, and grandson DeMar Charles Galloway. She is also survived by her relatives, nephew William Kaka and his son Clayton McGill and family, nephew Marvell Kaykay and family, nephew Emille Mattison and family, Emaline George and family, Adaline Matsaw and family, nephew Clinton Houtz and niece Shirley Alvarez and family, Valda Evening and family, Jerry McDonald and family, Cynthia Felix, Alexander Felix, Jr., and family of the Bitteroot Salish, Confederated Salish-Kootnei Tribes of Montana, and many other relatives and close friends. Madelyn lived most of her life in Fort Hall, Idaho. She graduated from the Indian Boarding School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and following that she agreed to participate in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian relocation program, through which she worked and experienced life in California and Oregon. She worked as hired help for well-to-do families in San Francisco, in a nursing home, and in the textile and garment manufacturing industry, to name a few places. There on the west coast she met a Klamath Indian man named Albert Dean Shuey, the father of her only daughter and child, Sheryl Lynn Slim. Albert Shuey passed early in his life. Madelyn returned home to Fort Hall. She married and separated from Jonah Mink. She married her high school sweetheart, Doyle Ray Punkin. Together they worked at Kraft Foods in Pocatello, and followed Kraft Foods back to California where they worked until receiving a retirement from Kraft. Madelyn enjoyed her retirement in Fort Hall, Idaho, but traveled occasionally around the country with her daughter and grandchildren to visit relatives, sightsee, and attend powwows. Madelyn enjoyed the company of her daughter, four grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was a master bead worker and seamstress. Her cooking and fry bread skills were renowned. She grew up with the traditional ways and languages of her people, participating in Native American Church, and helped in the Dagu-wenne. Her faith and her strength carried her though as she battled cancer. Viewing begins 10 AM and service at the home will begin at 7 PM on Wednesday May 31, 2017, at the residence, 4 N Siler Road, Fort Hall, ID. Burial service will be at 2:00PM Thursday, June 1, 2017, at Ross Fork Cemetery, Fort Hall, ID.

Burial

06/01/2017 14:00



Punkin Residence

4 N. Siler Road

Fort Hall

Idaho

83203