Jack F. Klein, 88

Jack Frederick Klein, 88, died of natural causes on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. He received his wish and died peacefully in his sleep, at home, surrounded by his loved ones.

Jack was born at home in Adrian, Minnesota, on Dec. 22, 1928, to Michael and Margaret Klein. He lived and worked on the family farm as a child.

He married Ruth Scheidt and they started their family. They lived in Colorado, South Dakota and Oregon, but they knew they’d found heaven when they moved to Montana.

He truly was a jack-of-all-trades. He worked at his school, mowed lawns and worked at co-ops. He sold pots and pans, vacuums, phone contracts and cemetery plots.

Jack made jewelry, had a worm farm, ran a tavern and worked for the railroad. He drove truck, financed a pawn shop and worked for Boeing. Dad wanted to have a mink farm, but our mom said no … she won out on that one! Dad wanted to raise ostriches … Mom won again!

Jack worked as a logger for many years, very proud of how many trees he could fell in a day, and even owned his own logging company for a short time.

Jack took great pride in working hard and providing for his large family.

In 1967 he traded his 40 acres in Swan Lake for apartments in Whittier, California. He spent eight years in California remodeling the apartments while also holding down a full-time job as a carpenter at Ford Motor Company. He also owned a mortuary for a short time with his sister and brother-in-law.

He missed Montana so he moved back to Kalispell and bought two motels, the Mont Villa and Teepee Lodge, which he also remodeled. Jack also bought 80 acres of land in Essex.

One of Jack’s final investments was to sell his lodge and use that property to become co-owner of the La Quinta Inn here in Kalispell.

During retirement he enjoyed snowmobiling, hunting, fishing, reading, cooking and visiting with friends.

Jack was a caring and giving man who always wanted to help others. He was a bit of a character with a good sense of humor and many stories to tell. He was well liked by everyone he met.

Jack was preceded in death by his wife Ruth, and three sons, David, Daniel and Richard.

Jack is survived by his daughters, Mary Hildesheim and Joe, Linda Green and Dave, and Jackie Klein and Rob Mattheisen; and his sons, Terry Klein, Andy Klein and Diane, and Mark Klein and Charlotte. He is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A special thank you to Reyne for being a loving friend and caregiver to our father.

A public viewing will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 21, at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church with a burial to follow at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.

Please visit www.jgfuneralhome.com to share condolences. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for the family.