All Tributes

NANCY MARTINSON Nancy Martinson, 87, passed away peacefully in Kalispell on May 28th. Nancy was born August 19, 1935 in Milwaukee, WI. She was the third and youngest daughter of Charles and Helen Wolf. After graduating from high school, she went to work in the business office, at her father’s wrecking ball company. It was there, that a friend set her up on a blind date with the man of her dreams, Al Martinson. While they attended the same high school, she had not met him until that fateful...

It is with great sadness that we announce Gary Ernest Morken, age 81, passed away from dementia at the Montana Veteran’s Home in Columbia Falls on April 30th, 2023. Born in Conrad, MT to Archie & Mollie (Island) Morken on 6/2/41 Gary grew up in Cut Bank & Polson. He spent summers farming with cousins Vernon & Gerald Burger in Cut Bank and went to school & helped at the family owned Grandview Grocery Store in Polson. Gary enlisted in the US Army in 1961 and was honorably discharged due to...

On April 23, 2023, our world lost an icon and a hero to many. At 87 years young, with his children by his bedside, Skip took his final breath on this earth at home after enduring 18 months of heartbreak from losing his wife, “Kel”, and a recent cancer diagnosis. Where to begin to summarize the life of an incredible husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, son, brother, uncle and friend. Skip was born in Billings to Monroe and Helen Dunfee on Nov. 25, 1935, and raised in Butte. He...

Sarah Marlene Brenchley Gage (Marlene), 91, died peacefully on April 21, 2023 in Columbus, Montana. Born on August 5, 1931, in Wellsville, Utah, to Merrill Murray Brenchley and Agnes Ellen Glenn Brenchley, she spent much of her childhood and adolescent years in Green River, Wyoming. In 1948,much to her disappointment, her family moved to Parker/St. Anthony , Idaho to farm. Upon graduating from high school, Marlene went to nursing school in Idaho Falls, Idaho. During her nursing training,...

Larry Warren Smith passed away of natural causes April 19, 2023 in Kalispell Mt. Larry was born March 20, 1947 in Louisville Mississippi to Leon and Evelyn Smith. He grew up in Hingham, MT and graduated from Hingham High School in 1966. Larry enlisted in the US Navy in 1968. He was stationed aboard the USS Providence during the Vietnam War. Larry received many awards and medals including: Navy Achievement, Navy Good Conduct, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign,...

William “Bill” Robert Sutton, 72, passed away in Kalispell, on April 17, 2023. Even as he battled health issues for the last few years, he told us, "Every day is a gift," and he lived every day as such. Bill was born Sept. 18, 1950, in Modesto, California, to Bob and Marie Sutton. He graduated from Davis High School as a multisport athlete and with deadly accuracy from a duck blind. He then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in botany from Humboldt State. During Bill's time in northern...

Janet Henneford, 84, quietly passed from this life to life everlasting, on April 10, 2023. 
Janet was born on Sept. 22, 1938, in Lewistown, to Earl Manning Armstrong and Clarice Illsley Armstrong. Following high school she attended Montana State College (now University) majoring in medical technology. She was a cheerleader for the Montana State Bobcats football team and went to the one and only Aluminum bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas where the final score was 0-0. It was a rainy day and...

A. Jeanine Pederson, life-long Flathead Valley resident, died on April 5, 2023, at the age of 89. Jeanine was born on November 2, 1933, the daughter of Louis and Adelaide (Gilbertson) Jensen. After living at Creston during grade school and Evergreen during high school, Jeanine married her high school sweetheart, Clyde, in 1953 and shared 68 years of married life until Clyde’s death in February of 2022. Jeanine was mostly a “city girl” and Clyde was a “country boy.” It wasn’t...

Hofeldt, Deloris Marie (Willard) Age 95, of Kalispell, MT, formerly Chinook, MT, peacefully went to be with Jesus, her Lord and Savior, on April 4, 2023 at her home at Buffalo Hill Terrace.  Deloris Willard was born on November 26, 1927, in Rolette County, North Dakota to Harold and Palma (Tweet) Willard.  She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. Her parents farmed near Rolette, ND until the depression when they moved to Lanton, Missouri. Around 1937 they returned to North...

Eric Jon Brechel, 52, ran a heck of a race to heaven on April 1st, 2023 surrounded by family and the love of his life. He was born 08/25/1970 in South Lake Tahoe, CA to Mark Brechel and Marcella Fickbohm Brechel. Eric was always known as a good guy and would help anyone in a pinch. He was a jack-of-all trades. If it had wheels or racing Eric was there and his dad was always close behind. He married Joy Ann Brechel, the love of his life, April 1st, 2011. They were childhood friends and...