Skeez Messing, 92, passed away on Aug. 1, 2014, at Hidden Meadows Memory Care in Columbia Falls.
He was born to Marvin and Emily Becker Messing in Freeport, Ill., where he grew up. He was nicknamed Skeez because his life paralleled the character, Skeezix, in the comic strip “Gasoline Alley.” His artistic nature emerged early; in high school he cleverly hid the name of his future wife in all of the illustrations in the yearbook!
Skeez attended the Art Institute of Chicago on a Guggenheim scholarship. Like so many of his generation, World War II interrupted his education. Thirty-six hours before shipping out, he married his high school sweetheart, Ann Landreth.
Skeez served with the Navy Seabees in the Pacific Solomon Islands for the duration of the war. When the war ended, the Messings resumed their lives in Freeport where Skeez joined the family business, Messing and Becker Sporting Goods. Skeez managed the store while pursuing his art. He worked in oil paint, stone and wood sculpture and intaglio prints.
During the 1960s, Skeez became actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement, one of the most prolific periods of his artistic career. Skeez firmly believed that artists have a duty to inform and evoke deep thought about the human condition. He felt that every person has an artistic voice and enjoyed teaching art at Highland Community College, Freeport, and Flathead Valley Community College, Kalispell. Skeez’s work is featured in museums, churches and private collections.
The Messings relocated to the Flathead Valley 29 years ago to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. Skeez continued his art and loved skiing, sailing and hiking. He was a lifelong Episcopalian and active in the Cursillo movement.
Survivors include Ann, his wife of 71 years, at Buffalo Hill Terrace, Kalispell; daughters, Pam Messing Hughes and Richard of Whitefish, and Kristi Messing of Missoula; and grandchildren, Brennan and Spencer Hughes and Lindsay Dalby. He is also survived by two beloved exchange daughters, Hiroko Nakamura of Tokyo, and Marta Dantas of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Skeez was preceded in death by his sister, Patricia Messing Nash; and brother, John “Jack” Messing.
A private family service will be held immediately and a celebration of life will be announced in 2015.
Buffalo Hill Funeral Home in Kalispell is handling the arrangements.
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