Jean Fischer, 90
Jean Frances Kowalski Fischer exited stage left on Dec. 10, 2023 – five years to the date since her husband Bill Fischer, passed on Dec. 10, 2018.
She was born in St. Louis, Mo., on Feb. 4, 1933, to Pauline and Edward Kowalski and was always proud of and good-humored about her Polish heritage. Her list of challenges, experiences and accomplishments began with her earliest challenge of having an eye removed at age 3 due to a cancerous growth.
She viewed life through one eye almost her entire life but that didn't change how she looked at the world. She was always ready to try new things and approached new experiences with a positive and fun attitude.
She graduated from Beaumont High School and completed secretarial training at Logan Chiropractic College where she met her first husband, Bill Welch. Together they moved first to Alaska to marry, and then to his native Montana to have three children, Lynn, Bill and Jackie. She easily made friends wherever she went and embraced her western surroundings despite being so far from her St. Louis family.
Jean was a beloved local personality in Polson for many years, known for her infectious laugh and devotion to Christ and the Episcopal Church. She worked as a secretary at Polson High School, Security State Bank and Dupuis Lumber when her children were young.
She performed on “Showboat Round the Bend” and served as a member and officer of the Jayceens. She loved theater and was an original member of The Port Polson Players where she starred in her favorite role as Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
She co-owned and managed The Polson Animal Clinic followed by co-ownership of Anchor Drug in Polson. She participated in the local women’s softball and bowling leagues (strictly for the laughs), as well as the Soroptimists Club and the Red Hat Ladies.
She could walk into any store or restaurant or the post office and it would always be an additional 5-10 minutes because someone would say, “Hi Jeanie!” If you went to a movie you would always know that she was there once the laughter started because she was the loudest laugh in the audience.
She had also been an Arabian show horse breeder and at one time was the Community Concerts regional representative traveling throughout Montana and Wyoming in the winter, by herself. She even tried skeet shooting and golf which required quite a handicap with one eye.
In 1991 she married Bill Fischer and moved to his farm in Ferndale. After a courageous victory over cancer, she survived to travel with him across the country in an RV building homes with Jimmy Carter and Habitat for Humanity before settling in Kalispell. Jeanie and Bill were married for 27 years until his passing in 2018.
Smart, independent, charitable, empathetic, a supporter of the underdog and defender of the not-so-fortunate are just a few ways to describe her. She enjoyed life, laughed a lot and would talk to anyone. There were no strangers in her life.
To say she will be missed is not even close to what will actually be felt. It is devastating to lose her but we are thankful that she is at peace now.
She is survived by her children, Lynn Welch, Bill (Crissy) Welch and Jackie (John) Gootee; grandchildren Alison and Georgia Gootee and Alex Welch; and her brothers, Chuck and Rich Kowalski.
The family would like to thank all the caregivers at Logan Health and Brendan House who helped Mom in her final days. They treated her with caring kindness and we will be forever grateful for that.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. June 29, 2024, at Christ Episcopal Church in Kalispell. A reception will follow in the lower level of the church. Memories and condolences can be shared at buffalohillfh.com.
Jean Fischer