Oystein Mathias Boveng, 81, of Kalispell, died on November 7, 2014 with his wife and children at his side.
He was born in 1932 at Sandar, Norway, the first child of Paul and Martha Helene Tutvedt. In 1945, the family changed their name to Boveng, a surname from a branch of their family tree dating back to the early 1600s. Stories of his boyhood days in coastal southern Norway sounded idyllic, though they were peppered with memories of the World War II years; several anecdotes were humorous or prankish, perhaps a way of coping with the hardships and indignities faced during the occupation by German forces.
Oystein, his parents, and his sisters Liv Anne and Tele, emigrated to Galata, Montana in 1947. After a brief period of operating his uncle Martin’s homestead farm, the family moved to Kalispell, where Oystein attended Flathead High School in the class of 1951. He brought his love of skiing from Norway and further honed his skills by competing in all four events (slalom, downhill, jumping, and cross-country) during high school and at Montana State College in Bozeman, where he earned a degree in architecture.
He returned to Kalispell and met the love of his life and wife of 57 years, Gail (Torgerson). With their first child, Peter, they pulled up stakes and moved to Sandefjord, Norway in 1961 but were drawn back to the Flathead Valley after just one year. A son, Arne, and daughter, Kirsten, soon rounded out the family. They backpacked together in the summer and skied together in the winter, often decked out in Gail’s hand-knit Norwegian sweaters.
Oystein and Gail courted on the ski slopes and together they tore up the snow in the early days of the Big Mountain ski area. Their close group of skiing friends evolved into beloved social groups such as the Over-the-Hill Gang and Gail’s sewing club that long outlasted most of their members’ skiing days. He helped found the Kalispell Ski Club, taught skiing and coached junior competitors, and developed cross-country ski trails with his long-time friend Jon Elliot. Oystein felt humbled to be among the five inaugural inductees to the Ski Heritage Center Hall of Fame in 2013.
Oystein’s modernist designs and engineering are reflected in many buildings around northwest Montana, including the Summit House at Whitefish Mountain Resort, Grouse Mountain Lodge, the visitors’ centers at Logan Pass and St. Mary, Northridge Lutheran Church, several banks and schools, the skating shelter and Community Spirit Monument in Woodland Park, and the Northridge area home he built and lived in for 49 years.
For 25 years, he fought with rheumatoid arthritis; it cut short his skiing and severely disfigured his physique but he steadfastly refused to let it take his independence. His family and many friends marveled at his strength, courage, determination, humility, and especially his good cheer; those were his most defining characteristics, alongside his wry smile and the unforgettable twinkle in his eyes.
Oystein is survived by his wife Gail; children Peter, Arne and Kirsten (Purdy); sister Tele (Triggs); grandchildren Nicole (Randall), Karl, Sydney, Hanne, Maia Purdy and Lars Purdy; and great-grandson Orry Randall.
He supported and was supported by the loving community of the Northridge Lutheran Church. The family suggests memorial donations be made to the Rheumatology Research Foundation or Northridge Lutheran.
A service and afternoon luncheon in celebration of Oystein’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16 at Northridge Lutheran Church.