Father Charles Strom
Father Charles "Bud" Strom, 95, died Monday, July 12, 2010, at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish. He was an ordained priest for 38 years. Father Patton saw and anointed him Sunday afternoon.
Fr. Strom graduated from Whitefish High School and from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's in music education. He taught music for one year before joining the Air Force, retiring as a Lt. Colonel after 25 years of service.
Fr. Strom then attended seminary in Boston. He was ordained in Whitefish in 1972. Father Uncle Bud, as he was known by his family, served as a true and faithful servant throughout the Diocese of Helena. He served in Eureka, Ronan and Whitefish.
Fr. Strom made many worldwide pilgrimages, including to the Holy Land, Rome, China, Mexico and throughout Japan and Europe.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Alfred and Mary Strom, and his brother Al Strom.
He is survived by his sisters Mary McKee and husband Mac, and Helen Englasaer; nephews Jim Strom and wife Linda, Bill McKee, Bob Blush and wife Susan, and Alan Blush; nieces Barbara Niesz, Anne Briscoe and husband Barry, Leslie Kanzler and husband Denny, and Claire Blush; and many grand nephews and nieces.
Visitation and vigil was held at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Whitefish on July 14, 2010.
A Mass will take place at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Whitefish on Thursday, July 15, 2010, at 11 a.m. Most Reverend George Leo Thomas, Bishop of Helena, will officiate. Burial will take place next to his parents at Whitefish Cemetery.
Bradley Stodden
Bradley Kent Stodden, 63, passed away suddenly at his home in Whitefish on June 15, 2010, due to complications from emphysema.
He was born in Belle-fonte, Pa., on May 25, 1947, to Alda and Kenneth Stodden and spent his first 2 1/2 years in nearby Centre Hall while his father attended graduate school at Penn State.
After graduation, the young family lived in Whitefish for 18 months while Ken helped survey the new Hungry Horse Dam site, then moved to Pittsburgh where Ken got a job doing metallurgical research for U.S. Steel.
When Ken developed health problems in September 1953, the family moved back to Montana and stayed alternately with Ken's parents in Butte and Alda's parents, Robert and Jennie McFadden, in Whitefish. When Alda went back to work with the Great Northern later that year, Jennie took care of Brad and his little sister Jan.
Brad attended school in Whitefish from age seven through high school, graduating salutatorian of his class. He excelled at music and academics and won the prestigious Great Northern Railway four-year college scholarship.
Brad studied philosophy and English at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., where he received a bachelor's degree. While in college, he played guitar and studied briefly with Leo Kottke. He joined the psychedelic rock band The Paisleys and performed in the Twin Cities in the late 1960s and on their album The Cosmic Mind at Play. He retained a passionate interest in music and philosophy throughout his life, and expressed himself artistically through painting and music. He never married.
Brad was preceded in death by his father, mother and stepfather Jack Zerr.
He is survived by uncle Robert McFadden, of Whitefish; sister Janis Olson, of Hebron, N.D.; brother Jeff Zerr, of Boulder, Colo.; nephews Jeremy Olson, of Belgrade, and Glen Olson, of Bethesda, Md.; dear friend Renie Malik, of Whitefish; one great niece; and four great nephews.
A memorial service was held at Whitefish Methodist Church on July 13, 2010.
Memorial gifts in Brad's name may be made to North Valley Food Bank or Whitefish Housing Authority.
Colleen Cluka-Gordon
Colleen Mary Cluka-Gordon left to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Feb. 17, 2010, in Las Vegas, with her loving family in attendance at her side.
She was born July 19, 1953, in Bertha, Minn., to William and Mary Cluka. Her family, including her two brothers and three sisters, spent time living in both Chester and Conrad before settling in Columbia Falls around 1965.
Colleen graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1971 and then moved to Whitefish, where she lived for many years. In 1976, she married Richard Gordon, of Whitefish. In 1977, Colleen gave birth to her son and only child, Jesse.
She relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1978. During her time there, she attained an associate-level business degree and became a small business owner. She moved to Lake Havasu City to start a new business of her own in the early 1990s.
Colleen was the owner-operator of Petrossi's Pizza in Lake Havasu City for nearly 15 years, and in that time made many friends with both the locals and the seasonal snowbirds that visited every year.
She loved spending her time with friends and family and was an incredibly social person. She was an avid wine connoisseur, loved planting flowers year-around and always enjoyed a good book.
Colleen also took great pleasure in music. One of her greatest joys was the time spent with her niece Jamie and Jamie's son Ayden. Although Colleen was Ayden's great aunt, in Ayden's eyes, she was like a grandmother and she showered him with both the love and affection afforded a grandson.
She is preceded in death by her parents and brother-in-law Larry Brown.
Colleen is survived by her son Jesse Gordon and wife Jamison, of Olympia, Wash.; siblings Yvonne Corbett and husband Jim, their children Scott, Nicole, Casey and Tony, and their grandchildren Nathan, Kaitlyn, Columbia, Alexi, Paige and Haylee; Carol Cluka-Long, her children Jamie, Bobby and Ronny and her grandson Ayden; Donald and Cozy Cluka and their daughter Brandy; Donna Hasson and Wayne Wick, their son Steven, and their grandchildren Luella and Lucas; and Ben Cluka and Michele Price and their daughter Danielle.
Colleen's ashes will be interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls on July 23, 2010. A memorial service will be held at the old Cenex Harvest Store on U.S. 2 , one mile north of Glacier Park International Airport, on Friday, July 23, 2010, at noon. Reception will follow at the North Valley Eagles in Columbia Falls.
Katy Pearson
Katy Pearson, 43, beloved mother, wife, daughter and sister, passed away July 3, 2010, after a brief illness.
Kathleen M. Conn was born May 11, 1967, in Whitefish, the oldest daughter of W. Vance and Judy K. Conn.
After graduating from Whitefish High School in 1985, she was a nanny in California for one year before coming back to her beloved Montana. She then attended Mr. Rich's Beauty College in Missoula and started her 23-year career as a hairdresser in the fall of 1987.
In 1992, she met the love of her life, Raymond Pearson, from Troy. They married on Nov. 20, 1993. Their son Walter was born to this loving marriage in November, 2001. He joined her at work for the first six months of his life and is adored by all her clients, many of whom would stop by her shop just to say hi to him.
Katy was a devoted mother and was an instrumental part of developing Rainbow's End Preschool and Daycare at United Methodist Church in Whitefish, where she was a board member for many years. Katy was a member of the Women of the Moose, Whitefish Chapter 597; was a behind-the-scenes volunteer for the Whitefish Winter Carnival; a dedicated parent helper for her son's class at Muldown Elementary, where every Monday she assisted the children with reading; and was on the board of directors of the E. A. Hinderman Memorial Scholarship committee.
She was preceded in death by her mother and grandparents Walter Conn, Jean Conn, Robert Jones and Sylvianne Jones.
She is survived by her husband; son; father and his companion Gail Litchfield; sister Janis Bensch and husband Paul, of Jamestown, N.D.; best friend Debbie Quick; the ladies at The Hair Hut; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins; and all her friends from high school.
Funeral services were held July 9, 2010, at the United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Walter J. Pearson account, c/o Whitefish Credit Union, P.O. Box 37, Whitefish MT 59937-0037 or Rainbow's End Preschool and Daycare, P.O. Box 4248, Whitefish MT 59937-4248.