Gerald Foster

Gerald Riker "Skin" Foster, 88, died July 28, 2009, at his home in Whitefish, after spending what he knew would be his final days joking with family, greeting friends and eating his favorite foods.

Skin was born Nov. 29, 1920, in Littlefork, Minn., the fourth of Leo and Belle Foster's seven mischievous children.

He traveled to Montana for the first time at 16, when he and two buddies jumped a box car to Bemidji, Minn., to work in the mines and then fell asleep. They awoke in Minot, N.D., and decided to ride on to Montana, where they spent the summer laying railroad track from Essex to Rexford. On weekends, they rode a hand cart into Whitefish for loganberry wine.

In April 1942, after arguing with an officer in the Army draft office, he promptly marched down the hall to join the Marines. He was wounded in action on Guam on July 28, 1944, and spent the following year in the hospital threatening doctors who wanted to amputate his damaged leg.

He kept the leg — and also his Littlefork sweetheart, Edith "Chuckie" Kjemprud, whom he married in the hospital on Oct. 7, 1944. He was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service, but he never spoke of them.

In 1950, Skin and Chuckie moved to Whitefish, where Chuckie raised their five children, and Skin hauled logs, graded roads and perpetrated mischief at every opportunity. After he retired, he and Chuckie traveled the country, cared for their many gardens, and passed their afternoons playing cards and bickering over whether he cheated.

Skin was full of stories, mostly unbelievable and mostly true. Multiple witnesses confirm that fish actually clambered to bite his hooks. He baked cookies solely to give them away. He peppered his speech with bemusing Skinisms, like his favorite admonishment, "Don't be Absorbine Junior!" And he maintained his shirt pockets — packed with gum, toothpicks, jelly beans, coins and the occasional set of teeth — as treasure troves for visiting children.

Skin was preceded in death by his parents, his five brothers and Chuckie, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2005.

He is survived by his sister Myrtle Fairchild, of Arden Hills, Minn.; daughters Anita Malone and husband Todd, of Whitefish, Beth Saltonstall and husband Will, of Anchorage, Alaska, Kit Hagenston and husband Dennis, of Billings, and Patty Battaglia and husband Philip, of Kalama, Wash.; son Ike and wife Kym; nine grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services took place Aug. 1, 2009, at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, with a reception afterward at Grouse Mountain Lodge.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Home Options Hospice or the Alzheimer's Association.

John W. (Jack) Galles Sr.

John W. (Jack) Galles Sr., loving husband of Elsie Galles passed away on July 27, 2009 at his home in Whitefish. Jack is survived by his wife, Elsie Galles; sons, John, of Texas and Randall, of Colorado; daughters, Judy, Valerie, Debbie and Shari, of Montana, Patricia, of Oregon and Paula, of Colorado. Also his stepchildren, Nicholas and Craig, of Washington, Melanie, of Florida, Robert and Laurie, of Montana, plus 33 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jack was born in Wolf Point on Oct. 8, 1927; He enlisted in the Navy in 1945 and was discharged in 1947. Jack married Patricia Maltby in 1949. They had nine children together and moved to the Flathead Valley. He worked many years as a log truck driver and as millwright at Anaconda Aluminum Plant. In 1971, he met and married Elsie Woodard. Together they realized his long dream of being a long-haul truck driver. They bought a truck and worked for North American Van Lines, logging more than 1.5 million miles before he retired in 1988. After retirement he became a snowbird, winters in Arizona and summers at his home in Whitefish. He was a member of the VFW and active in the Moose Lodge and the Iguana Club. He will be deeply missed by all.

Jack was preceded in death by his daughter Sandra Sherri and sister Grace McCollum.