Vincent Lidstrom

Vincent "Babe" Lidstrom, 74, passed away at his home south of Whitefish after a battle with cancer. He was sent to be with Our Lord and Savior surrounded by all his loving family.

Babe was born Dec. 5, 1930, in Palermo, N.D., to Carl and Pauline Lidstrom. He was baptized in to the Faith Lutheran Church and confirmed. He was an active member and a strong believer in the Lord all his life.

As a boy he attended school in Palermo and enjoyed spending his spare time with his black horse, Neg. He also enjoyed fishing in the White Earth Creek, something that he loved his whole life. As a young boy, he was sensitive to his mother and loving to his baby sister Ginger, who has always held a special spot in his heart. With his brothers Sonny and Bud, he just wanted to have fun, which made for great stories when the family was together. On Sept. 13, 1949, he married Lorraine Rice in Tioga, N.D. They were married for 37 years before her passing on May 17, 1987.

As a young man he went to work for the Great Northern Railway. Babe was transferred to Whitefish to work on the Western Fruit as a refrigeration mechanic. There he raised his family of five children on a farm south of town where he raised Black Angus cattle. The farm has always been a special place of gatherings on weekends and holidays. All his nieces and nephews held the farm special in their hearts for all the summer vacations spent with Uncle Babe.

Babe was a loving husband, a caring father and a patient grandfather who loved each grandchild in his own special way.

He is preceded in death by his father Carl; mother Pauline; wife Lorraine; brothers Sonny and Bud; and grandson Brett.

He is survived by his sister Ginger Schmidt and husband LeRoy; his son Gregory Lidstrom and wife Mary Ann, and their children Karl Lidstrom and wife Margaret, Amanda, Trevor Motichka and Shane Lidstrom; his son Claude Lidstrom and wife Linda, and their son Tyrell; his son Jodie Lidstrom and wife Mary, and their children Samantha and Sarah; his daughter Kathy Schelllinger and her husband Randy, and their children Matthew and A.J.; and his daughter Heidi England and her husband Mike, and their children Aaron, Sarai & Zachary; great grandchildren Tel, Josey and Quinn Motichka and Grace Lidstrom; and caregiver Donna Morris and her husband Dave.

Babe was loved and will be dearly missed by his family and many friends.

Funeral services will take place Thursday (today), Nov. 17, 2005, at 2 p.m., at the Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish. Burial will follow at the Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Kalispell. A reception will follow for friends and family to celebrate his life at Christ Lutheran Church.

Memorial donations may be made to Christ Lutheran Church Sunday School.