Willard Ramlow

Willard Russell Ramlow, 89, died at his home on Feb. 6, 2011.

Russ was born in Socorro, N.M., on July 2, 1922, to William and Pearl Ramlow. Because his mother died shortly after Russ’ birth, Russ and his sister Audrey went to live with their uncle and aunt, Chuck and Carrie Cutting, in Aberdeen, S.D.

Russ developed a lifelong love of the outdoors while growing up in South Dakota and became an avid pheasant and waterfowl hunter. When Russ was in his teens, his father remarried and he went to live with his father and stepmother in St. Paul, Minn. He graduated from Monroe High School in St. Paul in 1940, then returned to Aberdeen to study wildlife biology at South Dakota State Teachers College.

Russ spent the summer of 1942 in the Umpqua National Forest of Oregon on a fire suppression crew and learned the fine art of backcountry cooking. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy that fall, earned a rating as a torpedoman’s mate in San Diego, and sailed from Boston into the Pacific war on a newly-commissioned Fletcher-class destroyer, the USS Cogswell.

Russ’ ship provided antisubmarine escort to the USS Enterprise and other aircraft carriers under Adm. Halsey. It fought in numerous battles, including the Marianas Islands, the Philippine landings, Saipan, Guam and Okinawa. It was the first U.S. Navy ship to sail into Tokyo Harbor on the day of Japan’s surrender. Russ spent the rest of 1945 ashore at Yokosuka, helping to destroy Japanese naval ammunition.

At war’s end Russ resumed his study of wildlife biology at Colorado A & M, but soon agreed to work with his uncle Chuck at the Coast-to-Coast hardware store in Whitefish. He liked the hunting and fishing prospects in the mountains of Montana.

He met a high school teacher, Mary Ellen, when his car skidded on some ice and ran into her parked car on Columbia Avenue. On Oct. 16, 1949, they began a nearly 62-year marriage.

Over the next 30 years, Russ built the Whitefish Coast-to-Coast into a local institution where customers could find anything from chainsaw oil, snowblowers and radios to fishing licenses, shotgun shells and toasters. He was always willing to give advice on where to find fish and how to catch them. He treated everyone — railroaders, loggers, bankers, moms and school kids — with warm and friendly service.

Russ was a model of community involvement as well. He served in numerous civic organizations, including Rotary, where he led singing, Chamber of Commerce, the Rod and Gun Club, and Gideons International, and was a certified hunter-safety instructor.

He chaired the Whitefish School board and served on the Whitefish City Council. In 1976, the Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year. Russ served for many years as a Bible teacher and church trustee, first for the Whitefish Presbyterian Church and later for the Whitefish Church of the Nazarene.

Russ and Mary Ellen also devoted themselves to their family, raising three children, Joan, Judy and Jim, in a loving and active home, but got stuck on the “J”s. Even their Labrador hunting dogs got names like Jack, Jay, Jem and Joy.

Russ loved to hike the trails of Glacier National Park and to hunt and fish and pick huckleberries with his kids and grandkids and with anyone else who shared his deep appreciation and respect for nature.

Mary Ellen lives at the family home in Whitefish. Their daughter, Joan Pemble, and her husband Ed live in Caldwell, Idaho, and their son Jim Ramlow and his wife Alma live in Whitefish. Their son-in-law Greg Neer and his wife Helen live in Pella, Iowa. Their grandchildren are Mark and Scott Pemble, Janelle Reinbold, Jeff Neer, Gina Ehrlin, Bruce Ramlow and Hugh Ramlow. Their great grandchildren are Olivia and Ava Reinbold, Elisa Neer and Christian Ehrlin.

Russ and Mary Ellen’s daughter Judy Neer and their grandsons David and John Pemble died before Russ.

Funeral services took place Feb. 11, 2011, at the Whitefish Nazarene Church. The family suggests memorials to the Salvation Army or Boy Scout Troop 17 of Whitefish.