Merle Voigt
Merle M. Voigt, 84, a lifetime resident of Whitefish, died Aug. 23, 2009, at her home surrounded by her loving family.
Merle was born in Whitefish on May 30, 1925, to Bill and Jen England. She was raised and educated in Whitefish, graduating from Whitefish High School in 1944. She attended beauty school in Spokane, Wash., following high school.
She married the man she adored, Vincent Voigt, on March 4, 1946, in Whitefish, and they remained here where they raised their family.
A devoted wife and mother, Merle's relationships with family and friends were her life, and her love and care served as the center of her entire family. Through the years, she enjoyed riding her bicycle, playing pinochle with her friends and bowling. She had been a member of the Women of the Moose.
Merle was preceded in death by her parents, brother Jess, sister Jean, husband Vincent and son Michael.
Survivors include her son Steven Voigt, of Bozeman; daughter Linda Stevens, of Kalispell; daughter-in-law Helen Voigt, of Everett, Wash.; brother Glenn England and wife Christle, of Longview, Wash.; grandchildren Vickie, Ron, Julie, Jami and Karla; great grandchildren Megan, Michael, Sara, Lucas and Taylor; numerous nieces and nephews, especially Cheryl and Bill Frye and Cindy Voorhees; and special friend Patty Flink.
Services will take place Saturday, Aug. 29, at 11 a.m. at the Austin Funeral Home Chapel with committal services following at Glacier Memorial Gardens.
Cynthia Kobylenski
Cynthia Marie Kobylenski passed away on Aug. 9, 2009.
Cindy was born May 30, 1957, in Riverhead, N.Y., to Helen and Frank Ruskowski. She attended NYU Polytechnic in Brooklyn, where she received her master's in electrical engineering. Her degree culminated into a job at Hazelteen Corporation, where she was an aeronautical antenna development engineer. She also was an adjunct professor at NYU Poly for electrical engineering.
Cindy lived and worked in New York until she and her future husband, Len, were married on May 10, 1986. They later moved to Montana, where they grew with great flourish and ingenuity the Mission Mountains Mercantile. Len and Cindy later started Swan River Valley Real Estate, which expanded across western Montana.
Her love for children and the community was exhibited through her dedication to Swan Valley Elementary School, where she served as a school board trustee for 10 years, a track and soccer coach, and a devoted mother.
Life for Cindy was made even better by obsessive downhill skiing, boasting 1,200,000 vertical feet just this past year at Big Mountain with her other ski bums. She was a pedal-to-the-metal wave-runner, avid snow-mobiler and a gourmet chef who loved entertaining.
Cindy's love for life extended to all of her family and friends for whom she would donate time and her vast energy and love. Most of all, however, she prided herself in being the number one fan of her children.
She is survived by her husband Len Kobylenski; daughter Basia and son Lenny, both current students at MSU; parents Helen and Frank Ruskowski; siblings Frank and Susan; and Len's parents Leonard and Anelia Kobylenski.
A funeral mass was held Aug. 15, 2009, at Our Lady of Swan Valley.
Donations may be made in Cindy's name to the Condon QRU.
Lois Howell
Lois Loretta Davidson Howell, 89, of Whitefish, died Aug. 17, 2009, after a long illness with dementia and Parkinson's disease.
Lois was born July 7, 1920, to Mildred and Harry Davidson in Minneapolis. Living in her era, she grew up and survived the Great Depression, which necessitated frequent family moves, eventually to New York City, where she was educated at Hunter College. She was a young married mother during World War II, which also shaped much of the rest of her life.
She and the love of her life, Morton Smith Howell, had two sons, Andrew and Judd, who have given her extraordinary pride as they are wonderful men, and they have given her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
After Mort's death, Lois returned to college at New York University to finish her bachelor's and master's degrees to teach high school English and psychology.
She moved her children to Montana, where she taught in Kalispell, Hardin and Lewistown, and where she remained for 47 years. Lois' intellect, passion and facility for language and teaching touched many lives, and she shepherded high school students to become literate writers, speakers and readers.
She approached her hobby of weaving with the same zeal and became a master weaver while always sharing and teaching others.
On her 80th birthday, Lois was selected as a Montana Living Treasure by the Montana Weavers Guild. She was an active member of the Alpine Weavers and Spinners Guild.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, a brother and two sisters.
She is survived by her sons Andrew Howell and wife Sharon, and Judd Howell and wife Nancy; Debra Howell and granddaughters Betsy and Fred, Kate and Jessica; grandsons Craig and Laurie, and Derek and Tammy; and great grandchildren Ashley, Jarrod, Natalie, Chloe and Patrick.
A family and friend gathering and remembrance celebration will be held on July 7, 2010, her 90th birthday.
Elmer Knopfle
Elmer "Budd" Knopfle, 63, died July 21, 2009, at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls.
He was born on July 3, 1946, in Whitefish, to Edwin and Jeannie Knopfle.
Budd graduated from Whitefish High School. He had five additional years of schooling at the University of Honduras, University of Montana, University of California-Berkeley and Flathead Valley Community College, majoring in psychology and sociology. He went to Central America in 1965, returning to the U.S. when drafted into the Army.
He entered the Army on Nov. 10, 1966, and served as a radio operator. He was honorably discharged on Nov. 8, 1968, after serving one year in Vietnam and earning a combat infantryman badge, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnamese Campaign Medal, and an overseas service badge.
Budd moved back to Central America later and farmed for a number of years and did some weaving, traveled around Asia, returning to Montana in 1988. From 1988 to 1999, he worked for Northwest Montana Human Resources in Kalispell in the homeless program.
He had a stroke in 1999 and entered the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls on July 20, 1999. He was very well liked and will be missed very much.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister.
Survivors include Lowell and Ellen Mae Knopfle, of Kalispell, Betty Knopfle Shultz, of Rexford, and other relatives around the state.
Budd requested no services but wished to have his ashes spread on the Flathead River.
John Ortiz
John Ortiz, 57, "went peacefully to be with God" in the early morning of Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, after courageously battling pancreatic cancer for one and a half years.
John grew up in Victoria, Texas, where he knew from a young age, living with discrimination and tough times, that he wanted to be a police officer. He desired to be able to make a positive difference in people's lives.
John put himself through the police academy, worked for a year with the Broadwater County Sheriff's Office, then was hired by the Kalispell Police Department, where he worked for 17 years until his death. He was dedicated to his job, his law enforcement family, and was determined to work as long as God would allow him.
John proudly received a Life Saving Award, Fred Award this past spring and the Officer of the Year Award on July 16, 2009.
John loved his family deeply.
He is survived by his loving wife Joy; sisters Katy, Gloria and Lynn, brother Joe David, and mother Helen, of Texas; sons John Paul, Chad and Brock, of California; daughters Elena and Sunny, of Montana; grandchildren Keegan, Jena, Mattie and Jaden, of Montana; and granddaughter Taylor, of California.
He has numerous other wonderful relatives and friends who will all miss his loving, caring and funny personality. He will live on in everyone's hearts, as he touched so many lives in his short time here on earth.
A memorial service took place Aug. 22, 2009, at the Christian Center, in Kalispell.
Margaret Cummings
Margaret F. Cummings, 85, of Whitefish, died Aug. 25, 2009, at Brenden House in Kalispell.
She was born at Covington, Ky., on June 16, 1924, the daughter of James and Tootsie Clayton. She was raised and educated in northern Kentucky.
She and her late husband, John Cummings, were longtime residents of Cincinnati, Ohio. He preceded her in death in 1978. She remained in Cincinnati until coming to Whitefish in 2002, where she had made her home until the time of her death.
She is survived by her children, Jim Cummings and wife Kath, of Whitefish, John Cummings, Jr., of Hillsboro, Ohio, and Cynthia Homan, of Batavia, Ohio; nine grandchildren; and nine great grandchildren.
A memorial mass will be celebrated Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, at 10 a.m. at St. Charles Boromeo Church in Whitefish. Mass of the Resurrection and interment will be in Cincinnati.
Memorials may be made to Shepherd's Hand Free Clinic, 5150 Riverlake Parkway, Whitefish MT 59937.