Danny Dale McEntire, 73
Danny McEntire passed away Sept. 5, 2018, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
He was born on May 29, 1945, in Whittier, California, to Alfred and Jessie Fay McEntire. At the age of 13, he and his family settled in Hamilton, Montana. He attended Darby School and soon began his affiliation with the timber industry. Dan worked at a local mill and logging company in the Bitterroot Valley.
In 1965, his cousin’s fiancee introduced Dan to her roommate, Diane Sorenson. It was a whirlwind courtship that lasted a lifetime. Dan and Diane were married on Dec. 30, 1965, in Whitefish at Christ Lutheran Church. Their marriage of 52 years was blessed with three children. Patty, Wayne and Tim were Dan’s pride and joy. Although his work required much of his time, he never missed Patty’s band concerts, Wayne’s theater productions or Tim’s football games. Spring vacations were spent traveling by car to Disneyland, the ocean, zoos, historical points and the desert in Yermo, California, where he spent some of his childhood years.
Dan began working for Royal Logging in Columbia Falls in 1966. As the logging division of Plum Creek became the hub of the timber industry, he moved up in the company quickly and was logging foreman when the division was closed in the spring of 1987. Dan seized the opportunity to immediately start his own company, Stillwater Logging Company Inc. With the support of his family, Dan worked hard and the company’s success was the result. Dan valued and respected his employees and felt it took teamwork to accomplish each project. Dan always believed that he needed to work with his employees on the job and would never ask them to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. In 1996, his son Tim began working with Dan. They worked well together side by side for years with Tim assuming leadership as Dan’s health failed.
Dan loved all animals and always had a dog by his side or on his lap. His fondness for animals ranged from rescuing a bald eagle stuck in barbwire to bringing abandoned baby bunnies home so they didn’t die in the woods. Dan loved to fish with his family and even towards his last days, was looking forward to catching some cutthroats.
He was a wonderful husband and father and treated everyone he met with kindness and respect. Dan felt blessed to be baptized, confirmed and married in the Lutheran Church as his faith was always important to him.
He was preceded in death by his father, Alfred; twin brother, Stanley; mother, Jessie Fay; sister, Linda; and brother, Steven.
He is survived by wife, Diane; daughter, Patty; son, Wayne; and son, Tim, and wife, Liz, and the light of his life, granddaughter, Maria; and numerous sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. today, Sept. 7, at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home.