Henry Calvin Courville

POLSON - Henry Calvin Courville, 80, died Monday, Nov. 1, 2004, at St. Joseph Hospital.

Henry was born June 5, 1924, to Henry Lewis Courville and Victoria Burland Courville. His parents died at an early age and his grandparents and his Aunt Anny Garcia raised him.

Henry went to school in Polson until he was 15, when he and his sister, Laura, moved to Chenoweth, Ore., where he finished high school. He was a member of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.

Henry enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17. Henry returned to Polson after he was discharged from his military service.

He went to work for Dupuis Lumber Mill at the Dog Lake site and he dynamited the logs apart when they became frozen. A short time later, war in Korea broke out and Henry was called back to serve his country. Henry was a mechanic and worked on aircraft while he was in Korea and earned his air wings. In 1951, Henry was discharged, and he stayed in San Diego to continue his education and was licensed as a barber.

He then met and married Fredaleen Iona Marquardt in 1952. They moved back to Kalispell, where he continued to barber and mechanic. They then decided to move to Washington and Henry went to work at Boeing Aircraft for a few years. They then packed up and went back to California and continued his schooling in refrigeration and electrical works. Henry moved back to Montana and operated the Blue Bay Lodge for three years. He then helped build Dupuis Lumber Mill in Polson.

He moved to Clearfield, Utah, where he worked at the Hill Air Force Base for nine years building aircraft. He retired and moved back to Montana and did odd jobs until he went to work for Kicking Horse Job Corps. He then worked for the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority as a maintenance supervisor until his retirement.

Henry loved to fish, hunt, camp and ride in the mountains. He also loved his John Wayne movies and building things.

Henry was preceded in death by his parents and his loving wife, Fredaleen.

He is survived by his children, Kip (Jeanne) Courville of Polson, Sandy (Bob) Casteel of Thompson Falls and Linda Douglas of California; grandchildren, Kip, Cal, Liz and Alice Courville and Jesse Newby, Tia Hawkins, Brandon and Jeff Cunningham; and numerous great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Nov. 5, at the Grogan Funeral Home Chapel. Inturnment with military honors followed at Lakeview Cemetery

The family thanked Ron Grogan and his staff for the wonderful care they took with Henry and his family.

Donations are requested by the family to be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children at 911 W. Fifth Ave., P.O. Box 2472, Spokane, WA 99210-2472.