Gerald Duane 'Jerry' Ivers, 79

Gerald Duane Ivers, affectionately known as Jerry, was born Sept. 27, 1937, in Kalispell.

Jerry began to develop some serious health issues in 2014. He passed away peacefully at his home in Fort Mohave, Arizona, on Oct. 6, 2016, with his wife Karen and son Malcolm by his side.

Jerry was the eldest of nine children (including brothers Ed, Ron, Tom, Don, Larry and Bill, and two sisters, Susan Parker and Joan Kelly). His parents were Bernard George Ivers and France Mae Diller) Ivers.

In Jerry’s younger years he worked for his grandfather, George Diller, in a sawmill near Coram.

In 1956 he enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps where he served until 1959 when he received his honorable discharge. After serving in the military Jerry returned to the Flathead Valley and took a job for the Great Northern Railroad. He met and married his first wife, Kathryn Dragonfly. In 1982 he married Karen Kirkland.

Jerry’s greatest gift in life was his family whom he loved beyond words, his wife Karen, his daughter, Frances (her son Spencer his wife Candi) daughter, Rhonda and Wayne Miller (her children son Chris, daughter Courtney her husband Jon) daughter, Brenda (her children daughter Cassy her son Derrick, daughter Jessie her husband Ryan) his son Malcom and Bonnie their children Jonathon and Jordan), along with nine great-grandchildren.

Jerry and Karen eventually moved from the Flathead Valley to Conrad, where Jerry served as gang foreman and section foreman. During his time on the railroad he influenced the lives of many young men who worked with him on his gang. In his final years with BNSF Railroad he worked as track inspector and retired in 1995.

Jerry and Karen spent 34 loving years together. After retirement they enjoyed traveling between Montana and Arizona enjoying their hobby together by golfing, various golf courses along the way. In fact, they enjoyed the Bullhead City and Fort Mohave, Arizona, area where they both worked at times during the winter months at local golf courses. In addition they also traveled to wherever his son Malcom and family were stationed. They always looked forward to returning to their home in Conrad during the summer to enjoy their time in the Big Sky Country with family and friends and enjoying their golf at Marias Valley Golf & Country Club in Shelby. In addition, they loved spending time on Bitterroot Lake fishing with Karen’s folks, Archie and Shirley.

Jerry enjoyed many hobbies including hunting, fishing, and of course his favorite of all, golfing. In his younger years he found an old golf club in the dump at West Glacier. That is where his passion for golf first started. He became a very competitive golfer who maintained a single digit handicap for many years. In addition he enjoyed a personal hobby of collecting many sets of golf clubs and both building and repairing golf clubs in the little hobby area of his garage in Conrad. He enjoyed playing in league, various scramble and stroke play tournaments, and especially looked forward to the Montana State Senior Golf Association annual tournament. He loved playing a skins game and taking a few dollars from “his friends” at Marias Valley. Jerry was a very passionate, loving man and he loved life to the fullest. His family feels confident and is at peace knowing that he is now playing golf on “God’s 18” with all of his old golf buddies!

His celebration of life will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 14, at Marias Valley Golf course in Shelby. Lunch will follow. A nine-hole scramble will be held for anyone who wants to play at 8 a.m. To reserve, please call Marias Valley at 406-434-5940.