Clifford Kracher, 91

Clifford Kracher, 91, passed away on Saturday, April 29, 2017, at his apartment in Buffalo Hill Terrace in Kalispell.

Cliff was born on Feb. 24,1926, in Helena to John and Catherine Kracher. Cliff grew up in Helena and graduated from Helena High School in 1944. That year he joined the Navy and served two years on a ship in the Pacific during World War II.

After the war he returned to Montana and married Grace Gregoire on Aug. 27,1949, in Havre. They were happily married and devoted to each other for 64 years until Grace passed away in 2013. He also attended Carroll College in Helena where he earned a bachelor’s degree in bio-chemistry in 1951.

Grace and Cliff began their life together working and living in Anaconda where Cliff worked as a chemist for the Anaconda Company until 1969 when the family relocated to Columbia Falls where Cliff took a job in the lab for Anaconda Aluminum. In 1987, they moved to Kalispell and were residents ever since.

Among Cliff’s many interests and hobbies were music, dancing, playing the banjo, motorcycling, attending Dixieland jazz festivals around the country, traveling, fishing and camping.

Cliff is survived by his two sons, Steve of Kalispell, and Jim and wife, Joan, of Plymouth, Minnesota; grandsons, Chad and Matthew, of Minneapolis; and numerous nieces and nephews.

There will be a viewing and rosary from 1 to 3 p.m. today, May 2, at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3, at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Kalispell. Burial will follow at St. Richard’s Cemetery in Columbia Falls.