Stephen Cheman Jr.

Stephen “Steve,” “Dad,” or “Uncle Butch” William Cheman Jr., 80, of Kalispell, passed away peacefully Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, at the family home after a battle with metastatic bladder cancer.

Dad was born on April 11, 1940, at Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Lackawanna, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, to Stephen Cheman Sr. and Catherine Pentek Cheman. He was the eldest of four siblings and was brought up in the traditions of his Croatian heritage. The family resided on a farm for a spell where Dad helped his grandfather, Grampie Pentek, deliver milk for Steel City Dairy in Lackawanna. Dad had many great stories and fond memories of the farm where he grew up, especially of family lamb roasts and Croatian music.

Dad graduated from Frontier High School in Hamburg, New York, in 1957. He was a proud member of the Marine Corps Reserves where he was ranked as lance corporal. He served from 1958 until 1966 when he was given an honorable discharge. Though Dad was never deployed to battle, he had a special love of the military and military history. From day one, Dad was a car guy and did a little drag racing while a teenager, which got him into trouble a time or two. He loved to tinker and repair his cars, especially his Chevy Bel Airs, one that he drove in his younger years and one that he purchased later in life. The Bel Air was near and dear to his heart as that was the car he owned when he met and married Mom.

Dad married Mary Joyce Walker on Dec. 1, 1962, in Eden, New York, a marriage that stayed strong for 58 years. They started immediately making a family with six children: Bill, Peggy, Jill, Cheryl, Joyce and Chris, and built a house for all of us in North Evans, New York. Dad worked at the Erie County Water Authority for many years, then left to pursue his own business of chimney sweeping. In 1978, Dad took the family on a trip to Montana, all the way to Glacier Park. Montana made such an impression on Dad and Mom, that the very next year, they sold the house and packed us all up to move to Kalispell for good.

Dad designed and built our house on Foothill Road and worked at various jobs until landing at Evergreen Water District. He later took a job with Montana Rural Water and loved traveling our great state to help small municipalities with their water systems.

Dad loved physical exercise, and did lots of hiking, biking and running. He participated in many local 5K runs and always did well for his age group. He stayed fit with his weight set right up until his cancer diagnosis. He was a talented musician, especially on the accordion which he would play at family gatherings. We kids loved his rendition of “Riders in the Sky” that he would sing on long car trips. Dad also loved firearms and reloading ammunition and was always eager to share his knowledge with everyone.

Dad, Jill and Cheryl shared an adventure when they hiked to Strawberry Lake, lost the trail, crossed the Swan Range and ended up at Lost Johnny Point on the Hungry Horse Reservoir. That was one of Dad’s favorite and epic stories to recount.

Dad served as a volunteer firefighter for 12 years at the North Evans Volunteer Fire Department. He volunteered at Meals on Wheels and was a literacy volunteer for the jail system. He and Mom were faithful members of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Kalispell since 1979 and where Dad served as a Eucharistic minister for many years.

After Dad retired, he spent a lot of good times with his coffee friends at McDonald’s. He loved taking care of his little furry friend, Tomoko, the toy poodle, who will dearly miss him.

Dad was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by wife, Mary, at the family home in Kalispell; brothers, Richard (Jean) and Ken (Joanne) Cheman, and sister Pat Coates, all of New York; children, Bill (Eileen) of Oak Harbor, Washington, Peggy (the late Johnnie Walker) of Kalispell, Jill of Kalispell, Cheryl (the late Greg Corr) of Hamilton, Joyce (Bob) Owen of Florence, and Chris of Kalispell; grandchildren, Will Cheman, Katie (Robert) Pride, Gregory (Oly) Petersen, Brittany (Dave) Lynch, Brooke Molek, Isabella (Miguel) Del Carpio Gasca, Mary Del Carpio, Dylan Cheman, Ivy Cheman, Quinn Cheman, Nicole Owen, Adam Seelye, Andrea Seelye, Makayla Cheman, Caleb Pickering, Atticus Cheman and Amelia Cheman; and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as our longtime New York neighbors Lee and Marilyn Buchanan.

A viewing/rosary will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m. at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Friday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Church. The burial will take place Saturday, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery with a celebration of life at the VFW in Kalispell immediately following.