Obituaries, April 9

Mullin, Overl, Gillette, Thomas, Gibson, McAlear

Virginia McDougall Mullin

Virginia McDougall Mullin, 82, of Elmo, passed away on Saturday, March 28 at her home from natural causes.

Virginia was born on March 24, 1927, in St. Ignatius to Samuel and Annie McDougall.

She is survived by her four children: Judy (Ron) Pierce of Kellogg, Idaho; Tom (Sue) Jeffries of Hot Springs; Tim (Linda) Jeffries of St. Ignatius and Melba (Dan) Boyd of Missoula; sisters: Florence Earling of Spokane, Wash. and Violet Feather of Elmo, and brother Magic McDougal and numerous grandchildren amd great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband Floyd Mullin and son Melvin.

No services are planned at this time. Cremation and arrangements are by Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory of Polson. Condolences may be left to the family at www.groganfuneralhome.com.

Russell F. Overly

Russell F. Overly, 94, of Polson formerly Edmonds, Wash. passed away Monday, March 30 at St. Joseph Hospital of natural causes.  Born April of 1914 in Montrose, Colo, Mr. Overly was a WW II veteran and tail gunner in B-17 bombers. His adult career was spent in the electrical business in Washington state. In his younger days, he was a daring private pilot. In his 50s, his interests turned to sailing the waters of Puget Sound. He was a competitor in yachting races and active member of Edmonds Yacht Club, along with his wife, Ida.  After his sailing days he became a golfer, then an armchair enthusiast of baseball and avid lover of dogs.

After living in Edmonds since 1960, Mr. And Mrs. Overly moved to Las Vegas in 2003 to be near his oldest daughter and husband.  After the death of his wife of 55 years in 2005, he relocated to Polson’s St. Joseph Retirement Community to live near his youngest daughter and husband. St. Joseph provided a comfortable and caring environment for his final years.

Mr. Overly is surivived by his daughter, Kathleen (Richard) Lenahan of Battle Ground, Wash.; his daughter Candyce (Dale) Brevik of Polson; granddaughter and great-grandson Melissa (Rob) and Spencer Gracely of Tigard, Ore.; grandson Joseph (Stephanie) of Las Vegas, Nev.; step-granddaughters Karistan (Brett) Sproull and Kimberly Brevik (David Hernandez-Angeles) of Missoula.

Grogan Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Russell’s life will be celebrated privately in Polson, and this summer in Battle Ground. Condolences to the family at www.groganfuneralhome.com

Dean A. Gillette Jr.

ARLEE — Dean A. Gillette Jr., passed away March 30 at his residence in Arlee.

Dean was born February 14, 1967, in Plentywood to Dean and Marie Gillette. He was raised in Pinedale,  Wyo. and graduated from Pinedale High School in 1985.

 Dean enjoyed various hobbies throughout his life which included snowmobiling, four-wheeling, boating and hunting, he loved the outdoors. Dean moved to Arlee in 1998 where he continued enjoying the outdoors and his newest enjoyment became wagon rides around the valley with family and friends and his team of mules (Nick and Boobs). Dean was a gentle giant and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Dean will always be with us in our hearts.

He was preceded in death by his father, Dean A. Gillette Sr.

 Survivors include his mother, Marie Gillette of Arlee; sisters and brother Margaret Gillette of Pinedale, Wyo., Pamela Gillette of Arlee and John Wayne Gillette also of Pinedale, Wyo.; two nieces and two nephews Kara Dean Wiebe, Marissa Preece, Benjamin Preece and Shane Gillette; a great-niece and a great-nephew and the ones who make him great, Rayne-bo Anderson and Oscar Huerta.

 A rosary took place last Friday evening at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Arlee with funeral services being held on Saturday, April 4 in the Arlee Community Center.

 Foster Funeral Home and Crematory of St. Ignatius is assisting with arrangements. Memorials to assist the family may be made in care of Marie Gillette PO Box 168 Arlee, MT 59821.

William Henry Thomas

William Henry Thomas, 74, of Alameda, Calif. passed away on Sunday, April 5 at South Shore Convalescent Hospital in Alameda, from natural causes. A memorial services will be held later this summer.  Local arrangements are by Grogan Funeral Home Polson. A full obituary will run later.

Eloise F. Gibson

Eloise F. Gibson, 94, of Missoula, passed away on Sunday, April 5 at St. Joseph Hospital in Polson from natural causes. Grogan Funeral Home, Polson, will announce arrangments.

Larry Gene McAlear

Larry Gene McAlear, 66, residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away at home on March 25 after a one-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Larry was born on Oct. 18, 1942, in Polson, the son of Earl and Myrtle (Peek) McAlear. He attended elementary and high school in Libby as well as Western Montana College in Dillon.

Larry was a Vietnam Veteran and enjoyed many occupations throughout his life. He was a carpenter at the Libby Dam, cleared and built trails in the Cabinet Mountains and was a fire fighter for the forest service in Libby. Larry was an insulator at the Colstrip, Montana power plant, he became an ordained minister in Salmon, Idaho and was employed at the Weyerhaeuser Paper Mill in Cedar Rapids for many years.

Larry volunteered for many programs throughout his life and found great satisfaction in helping others. He volunteered for AA, Spousal Abuse, Hospice, various soup kitchens and setup survival shelters for The Red Cross; he will be greatly missed by those he helped.

The last year of his life was spent (when not receiving medical treatment) traveling to places he wanted to see or to see again. The highlight of his desires was to hike the trail he helped build many years ago. He accomplished this last summer with a trip to Leigh Lake. Larry wished to share his final hike in his beloved Cabinet Mountains with his daughter, Jean Ann, and she was courageously beside him each step of the way.

Larry will be remembered for his love of June berries, hiking the trails in the Cabinet Mountains, fishing Libby Creek as a child, spending time at Upper Thompson Lake and his great love of the Lord. Larry will be lovingly remembered as always traveling through life on  “A Wing and a Prayer.”

Larry was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, DeWayne McAlear.

Larry is survived by three daughters:  Janet (Brook) Lightner of Cedar Rapids; Jean Ann (Adam) Jeffrey of Taylorville, Ill.; and Debbie (Lynn) Hansen of Twin Bridges; two sons:  Mike (Sheryl) Redman of Missoula, and James (Karen) Redman of Columbus; as well as 21 grandchildren. Larry is also survived by his sister, Marlene (Dale) Herreid of Libby, and his brother, Richard (Shirley) McAlear of Nampa, Idaho.

Funeral services were held in Cedar Rapids on March 27; where many, many friends came to bid him goodbye. His final desire was to be buried beside his brother, DeWayne, in the Lakeview Cemetery in Polson.

Funeral services will be held for his Montana family and friends at the Grogan Funeral Home at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 4 in Polson and burial with military honors will follow at Lake view Cemetery in Polson.

Online condolences may be left for his family at www.groganfuneralhome.com.