William “Bill” Fergus Rauch, Jr.

On the evening of March 6, with family and close friends present, William “Bill” Fergus Rauch, Jr., age 77, died peacefully after a long illness and a brief stay at Rocky Mountain Care Center in Helena.  Bill was born Oct. 9, 1938 in Elmhurst, Ill. to William F. and Ruth E. (Pearson) Rauch.  As the eldest son, Bill helped his dad with his younger brothers David and Randy following the death of his mother from leukemia in 1954.  After graduating from York High School in Elmhurst, Bill attended Montana State College in Bozeman, participating in the ROTC program and graduating in 1960 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.  Upon graduation, he accepted his first job at Mountain Bell Telephone Company.

Bill married Ellen Braughton on August 19, 1961 in her hometown of Big Timber, Mont.  They moved to Alton, Ill., and Bill served in the U.S. Army in St. Louis, Mo. as a communications and logistics specialist supporting the war in Vietnam for several years.  After his discharge from active duty, Bill continued his career with Mountain Bell in Helena in 1963.  Bill stayed with the telephone company in Helena for over 30 years, as the company itself moved through numerous name changes, with Bill eventually becoming Network Director of 14 states.  During his time with the telephone company he also earned a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado.  He and Ellen welcomed their daughter Shannon into their family in 1967, followed by their son Brian in 1970.  After moving to Flathead Lake near Polson in the early 1990s, Bill was employed as a General Manager with Mission Valley Power and as Engineering Manager at Flathead Electric Co-op before his retirement in 1997.  Following their retirement, Bill and Ellen became migratory snowbirds and established a second home in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Bill lived a full and active life and was proud of his avocation as an engineer, serving as Secretary and as Vice President of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).  He obtained a pilot’s license and used his flying skills to take his family on numerous adventures.  Building a cabin at Canyon Ferry Lake allowed Bill and his family to enjoy fishing, boating, water skiing, and recreating with a wide circle of friends for many years, a tradition that continued at the Flathead Lake house.  Boating around Wild Horse Island on Flathead Lake was always a must, searching the hills for big horn sheep and the elusive wild horses or scanning the tops of scraggly trees for eagles and osprey. Rest and relaxation for Bill and his friends and family were always necessary after participating in one of his legendary home improvement projects.

During vacations from work and overseeing the family hay and horse ranch on Sierra Road in Helena, Bill also looked forward to trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness with his hunting buddies, big game hunting in Alaska or deep-sea fishing off the coast of Washington, escaping to one of Montana’s downhill ski slopes, or to snorkeling and scuba diving in Hawaii with his family.  In retirement, he was always looking for a chance to get in a round of golf on the shores of Flathead Lake or in the Arizona desert.  Bill dearly loved his four grandchildren, and took great pleasure in watching them grow into kind and generous young people. 

Bill was preceded in death by his parents William and Ruth, and by his stepmothers Helen and Evelyn.  He is survived by his wife Ellen; brothers David and Randy; daughter Shannon (Mark) Walker and son Brian (Heidi); and grandchildren Elijah and Brynn Walker, and Peyton and Ella Rauch.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 25 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Avenue, Helena, with a reception following in the Social Center of the funeral home.  Memorials may be sent to Wild Horse Island State Park at Montana State Parks Foundation, 307 Spokane Avenue, Whitefish, MT, 59937 or www.montanastateparksfoundation.org; the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, P.O. Box 190688, Hungry Horse, MT, 59919; or to the Montana State University College of Engineering, P.O. Box 173820, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3820.  Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer the family a condolence or to share a memory of Bill.