Tabatha Tavares

Tabatha Richelle Tavares, 49, passed away on October 24th, 2017 in Kalispell, MT. She was a loving and gentle spirit devoted to her husband Daniel of 15 years and her daughter Arwen. Tabatha was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1968, to Richard "Rick" Lee McPhail and Sara McPhail (Barton). She graduated from Central High School in 1986 and attended Missouri Western University where she studied Anthropology. In her youth she was a skilled dancer.

She met her future husband in an online chat room and moved to California to be married on the beach in Half Moon Bay on October 27th, 2002. For the couple's honeymoon, they traveled up and down the California coast, visiting San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Monterey. Her daughter Arwen was born the following year in 2003.

The family relocated to Montana in 2007, where she found pleasure being a supportive wife and mother. She enjoyed writing fiction and poetry, traveling, music, movies, Hindi television and spending time with her family. Tabatha possessed a great spiritual awareness and was a faithful Catholic with a special connection to St. Therese of Lisieux, ultimately going home to be with Jesus on Tuesday. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends and all those whose lives she touched.

Survivors include her husband Daniel Tavares and daughter Arwen Tavares of Polson, MT; in-laws Carlos and Carolyn Tavares of Florence, MT; sister-in-law Donna Russell of Castro Valley, CA; sister Jamie McPhail, brother-in-law Mat Gabbert and niece Emmaryn of St. Joseph, MO; brother Richard McPhail, step-father Harold Barton, and children Cassie, Alex and Chris, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Services will be held on Monday, October 30th at 11 a.m. at the Lake Funeral Home in Polson, MT.