John Blackwood, 83, passed away peacefully on March 20, 2017, the first day of spring, at Heritage Place, with his loving wife and daughter at his side.
John was born in Havre on Oct. 27, 1933, to John S. and Neva Feely Blackwood. Their home was in Chinook. He attended school in Chinook and graduated from Blaine County High School in 1951. He attended Montana State University (now University of Montana) in Missoula, graduating with a degree in business, then attended Law School in Missoula, graduating in 1958, having achieved many academic honors throughout his school and college years. He started his career as an assistant United States attorney in Billings, then moved to Great Falls to work in the firm of Jardine, Stephenson, Blewett and Weaver where he became a partner.
He met his wife Karen in Great Falls and they were married on July 9,1966. They were blessed with two daughters, Linda and Mary, who were born there.
In 1972, John and his family moved to Livingston where John formed a partnership with John McDonald, a former fraternity brother (Sigma Chi) as McDonald and Blackwood Law Office. The law office burned in October 1975, the result of a fire which started in the business below, and after that John remained in Livingston in solo practice. He also ran the home ranch in the Bear Paws south of Chinook for 10 years with hired men, driving back and forth between there and Livingston to manage the ranch and visit his mother and aunt. After selling the ranch in 1989 and closing the law office in 1990, he and Karen moved to Jackson Creek near Bozeman, and in 2011 they moved to Whitefish.
Although while growing up John attended church regularly, while attending a New Life Conference at Grace Baptist Church in Great Falls he went forward in church and made a commitment to confess Christ as Savior and Lord on March 21, 1971. He decided to follow the Lord in baptism on Palm Sunday, March 20, 1972. “John left this earth to meet his Savior” 45 years later on the same date, March 20, 2017.
While in Livingston, John was chairman of the Livingston Library expansion in 1977-78, and for a period of time John served on the board of Montana Institute of the Bible when the campus was in Maiden Canyon east of Lewistown. John was a member of Rotary club in Great Falls, Livingston, Bozeman and Whitefish, and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish.
John was predeceased by his parents.
He is survived by his wife Karen, and his daughters, Linda and her husband Jim Beal, and Mary and her husband Allen Armstrong. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Marilee, Johnathon, Bethany and Stephanie Beal, Max and Jurnee Armstrong, and stepgrandchildren Kevin Armstrong and his wife Loretta, and Paul Armstrong and his wife Lexi.
John was a faithful and loving husband to his wife Karen, and his first priority was his family, whom he loved unconditionally. He had been in failing health for several years, but never complained and was always positive. He was kind, honest, sincere and hardworking, and he will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him.
The family will hold a memorial celebration of John’s life on July 9 in Whitefish.