Kathleen Kay Fleck, 79

Kathleen Kay Fleck, 79, “went home to be with the Lord” on March 10, 2018, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, with her three children at her side.

Kathleen “Kitty” was born on Feb. 12, 1939, to Fritz and Ella Otterson in New Effington, South Dakota. She had three sisters, Gloria Smith, JoAnn Jones and Darlene Hanson. Her parents had owned several business entities including restaurants and bars, and finally a boat rental business on Bass Lake in Minnesota. This is where she met the love of her life, Gordy Fleck, from Grand Rapids Minnesota. They were married May 1, 1954, and started a family, giving them four children, Melody, Teresa, Tim and Dan.

She spent her life as a homemaker, wife and mother. In the summer time she would go harvest wild rice with Gordy, his brother Norbert and wife Yvonne on the lakes in Minnesota, which produced extra money, hard work and fun with lots of memories and good stories, including moose that were too close!

Gordy worked for a company building water and sewer treatment plants all over the states. The family moved from state to state for those jobs.

They finally retired to Kalispell. Kitty was overjoyed to settle in one place and to enjoy her home and family.

She has 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Kitty loved her crossword books and watching the soap operas. You just didn’t bother making appointments or visiting while those soap operas were on … She had watched “Days of Our Lives” since the day it started! When the soaps were done she could then go and do her errands.

She was preceded in death by her husband Gordy, and son Dan.

She will be missed so much by everyone who knew her. She is survived by her three children Melody Balla, Teresa Johnson, and Tim Fleck and wife Tracy.

A celebration of her life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Valley Community Church of God at 2149 Hwy. 2 East in Evergreen (behind Franz Bread Store), with Pastor Michael Hance Officiating. A luncheon will follow the celebration.