Bob Williams passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 18, 2014.
He had been a very well-liked and appreciated resident at the Columbia Falls Veterans Home for the past three years. Bob was a perfect example of our "best generation," coming home from the war and immediately going to work. Hardworking, honest and silently (usually) disgusted with users, whiners and slackers, Bob strove to better himself through home courses and schooling in Spokane to finally land his dream job, that of a substation operator for the electrified Milwaukee Railroad in 1966. The Milwaukee Railroad folded in 1980, and Bob was disheartened to have to retire early.
If he had any enemies, they surely earned it.
Bob was born in Sheridan, Wyo. in 1923, then moved to Ellensburg, Wash. for high school where he was a standout member of the tennis club.
When he joined the Army, his World War II war station was in the New Hebrides. He finished his service obligation at Fort Missoula.
In 1946, he married Darlene Marie Kampfe. They moved to Condon in 1948, to work at the Wineglass Sawmill, then to Seeley lake in 1953, where he worked as millwright, electrician and saw filer at J & M Lumber and Gray's sawmills. In 1962, they moved to Missoula where he worked at the Intermountain Sawmill. When he got the railroad job, he and Darlene bought a cherry orchard on Finley Point of Flathead Lake. That kept him busy on his days off and in the years after his retirement. In 1991, he and Darlene moved to a nice quiet streamside home in Lakeside. Through it all they raised three kids who always had everything they needed. Yearly family vacations were memorable times.
Bob's lifelong passion was ham radio, beginning in his high school years. Each of his homes had a dedicated room or outbuilding designated the Ham Shack. There among shelves of radio components, antennae and wires, he would talk daily with other "hams" and was content. Most of his best friends were hams, all cut from the same cloth. Bob took his ham radio expertise to Alaska five consecutive years to assist at checkpoints along the Iditarod race course.
An avid hunter and fisherman, Montana was right for Bob. He and Darlene traveled to Spain, Portugal, New Hebrides, Fiji, Belize and Mexico.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Darlene's unexpected and sorrowful death in 2001. Also his father, Alva C. Williams; his mother, Frieda P. (Jones) Williams; infant son, Danny Williams; and his sister, Martha Powell of Port Orchard, Wash.
Immediate surviving family members are daughter, Barbara Jo Luke of Toledo, Ohio; daughter, Diane Smith of Kalispell; son, Mike and Mai Williams of Condon; sister, Winifred and Ross Peach of Puyallup, Wash.; and seven grandchildren.
Bob was a good man and a positive contributor to planet earth. So Long, W7IPB.
A summer memorial is planned, the date yet to be determined. Contact Mike at (406) 754-2219 for inquiries.
To send condolences to the family, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.
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He had been a very well-liked and appreciated resident at the Columbia Falls Veterans Home for the past three years. Bob was a perfect example of our "best generation," coming home from the war and immediately going to work. Hardworking, honest and silently (usually) disgusted with users, whiners and slackers, Bob strove to better himself through home courses and schooling in Spokane to finally land his dream job, that of a substation operator for the electrified Milwaukee Railroad in 1966. The Milwaukee Railroad folded in 1980, and Bob was disheartened to have to retire early.
If he had any enemies, they surely earned it.
Bob was born in Sheridan, Wyo. in 1923, then moved to Ellensburg, Wash. for high school where he was a standout member of the tennis club.
When he joined the Army, his World War II war station was in the New Hebrides. He finished his service obligation at Fort Missoula.
In 1946, he married Darlene Marie Kampfe. They moved to Condon in 1948, to work at the Wineglass Sawmill, then to Seeley lake in 1953, where he worked as millwright, electrician and saw filer at J & M Lumber and Gray's sawmills. In 1962, they moved to Missoula where he worked at the Intermountain Sawmill. When he got the railroad job, he and Darlene bought a cherry orchard on Finley Point of Flathead Lake. That kept him busy on his days off and in the years after his retirement. In 1991, he and Darlene moved to a nice quiet streamside home in Lakeside. Through it all they raised three kids who always had everything they needed. Yearly family vacations were memorable times.
Bob's lifelong passion was ham radio, beginning in his high school years. Each of his homes had a dedicated room or outbuilding designated the Ham Shack. There among shelves of radio components, antennae and wires, he would talk daily with other "hams" and was content. Most of his best friends were hams, all cut from the same cloth. Bob took his ham radio expertise to Alaska five consecutive years to assist at checkpoints along the Iditarod race course.
An avid hunter and fisherman, Montana was right for Bob. He and Darlene traveled to Spain, Portugal, New Hebrides, Fiji, Belize and Mexico.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Darlene's unexpected and sorrowful death in 2001. Also his father, Alva C. Williams; his mother, Frieda P. (Jones) Williams; infant son, Danny Williams; and his sister, Martha Powell of Port Orchard, Wash.
Immediate surviving family members are daughter, Barbara Jo Luke of Toledo, Ohio; daughter, Diane Smith of Kalispell; son, Mike and Mai Williams of Condon; sister, Winifred and Ross Peach of Puyallup, Wash.; and seven grandchildren.
Bob was a good man and a positive contributor to planet earth. So Long, W7IPB.
A summer memorial is planned, the date yet to be determined. Contact Mike at (406) 754-2219 for inquiries.
To send condolences to the family, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.
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