Richard "Dick" Curtis Kidwell, 86, passed away on May 19, 2013, at the Columbia Falls Veterans Home after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Richard was born on April 4, 1927, the youngest of seven children, to Johnson Kidwell and Rosalie Coldwell in Hughesville, Mo. Dick attended school in Hughesville. At the age of 17, Dick joined the U.S. Navy. Dick served on board a "Landing Ship, Tank" (LST) in the South Pacific Theater and was part of the Battle of Tinian during World War II.
After leaving the Navy, he moved to Kansas City, Kan., where he found a job working for Boeing Aircraft Company.
Dick had an adventurous spirit so he made his way to Proctor, where he met his first wife, Elsie Viola Learn. They were married until her death in 1979. He then married Donna Marie Brown Galloway, and they were together until her death in 2010. Dick worked many different occupations while in the Flathead Valley. One of his first jobs after arriving in Kalispell was as a gas station attendant/mechanic. Dick soon found his passion for working in the woods and worked as a sawyer, woods boss, and had his own logging business. After retiring from the timber industry, he worked for several years at Walmart in the garden center.
Dick was instrumental in starting the Fraternal Order of Eagles (4081) in Columbia Falls. He was an officer in the club and held nearly every position, including its president. Dick was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Alvin; and sisters, Wilma, Ethel and Hazel.
He is survived by his two older sisters, Estelline and Daisy, who reside in Missouri. Richard has numerous nephews and nieces in Oregon, Wyoming and Missouri. Richard also has six stepchildren from his marriage to Donna Brown Kidwell. They include Larry Lessor, Dixeen Cornell, Ray Galloway, Dale Galloway, Valorie Galloway and Cheryl Moran.
Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Fairview Cemetery on Middle Road.
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Richard was born on April 4, 1927, the youngest of seven children, to Johnson Kidwell and Rosalie Coldwell in Hughesville, Mo. Dick attended school in Hughesville. At the age of 17, Dick joined the U.S. Navy. Dick served on board a "Landing Ship, Tank" (LST) in the South Pacific Theater and was part of the Battle of Tinian during World War II.
After leaving the Navy, he moved to Kansas City, Kan., where he found a job working for Boeing Aircraft Company.
Dick had an adventurous spirit so he made his way to Proctor, where he met his first wife, Elsie Viola Learn. They were married until her death in 1979. He then married Donna Marie Brown Galloway, and they were together until her death in 2010. Dick worked many different occupations while in the Flathead Valley. One of his first jobs after arriving in Kalispell was as a gas station attendant/mechanic. Dick soon found his passion for working in the woods and worked as a sawyer, woods boss, and had his own logging business. After retiring from the timber industry, he worked for several years at Walmart in the garden center.
Dick was instrumental in starting the Fraternal Order of Eagles (4081) in Columbia Falls. He was an officer in the club and held nearly every position, including its president. Dick was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Alvin; and sisters, Wilma, Ethel and Hazel.
He is survived by his two older sisters, Estelline and Daisy, who reside in Missouri. Richard has numerous nephews and nieces in Oregon, Wyoming and Missouri. Richard also has six stepchildren from his marriage to Donna Brown Kidwell. They include Larry Lessor, Dixeen Cornell, Ray Galloway, Dale Galloway, Valorie Galloway and Cheryl Moran.
Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Fairview Cemetery on Middle Road.