John Fleming, 77

John Fleming, 77, passed away peacefully of Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia on Sept. 19, 2024, with his family by his side.

John was born Nov. 12, 1946, in Polson to Jim and Billie Fleming. He grew up on a farm in Pablo where he spent his childhood raking hay, changing irrigation pipe and worrying that someone might forget to pick him up in the field to make it to baseball practice.

He loved sports and excelled in many of them. He graduated from Ronan High School in 1965 and went to Carroll College where he earned a Bachelor’s in Business in 1969. At the insistence of the Selective Service System, he served in the U.S. Army for two years after college, part of which was in Vietnam.

Upon returning from Vietnam, John attended the University of Montana Law School for a year before deciding education was his field of choice. He went back to school to complete elementary and secondary education degrees and later a Master’s in Education.

He began teaching at St Ignatius Schools in 1974. He briefly taught Title I in the high school before settling in to teach fifth grade and, in the latter half of his career, middle school social studies, where he was able to indulge in sharing one of his great interests, Montana history.

He was often busy after the school day ended, teaching driver’s education and coaching soccer, middle school football, Odyssey of the Mind and Academic Bowl. After 40 years in the classroom and teaching generations of Mission Bulldogs, he retired in 2014. Running into former students and having a quick chat always brought a smile to his face.

Public service and fairness were important to John and he served on the Lake County Planning Board, the St. Ignatius Rural Fire Department Board and the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers Board for many years. In 2019, he was inducted into the Montana Federation of Public Employees Hall of Fame for his lifetime of work in support of labor unions.

He was proud to be elected by his neighbors to serve two terms as a Representative in the Montana Legislature.

John and his wife of 49 years, Lydia, raised three boys in the shadows of the Mission Mountains near St. Ignatius. His relaxation came in the form of raising cattle on their small ranch, a marginally remunerative side hustle that he enjoyed immensely.

John was preceded in death by his parents and brother Jim. He is survived by his wife, Lydia, and sons, Louis of Missoula, Will (Brandi) of Great Falls, and Ian (Brenda) of Los Alamos, N.M.; grandchildren Daphne, Donna, Eli, Bennett and Cooper; and siblings Mary, Joan, Pat, Neil, Greg, Peggy, Annie, Katie and Elizabeth.

John’s family would like to thank the staff of Edgewood Memory Care for wonderful care during the last months of his life. They would also like to thank Jennifer Doty, PA at Providence Neurology, Tom Normandeau, and the staff and instructors at Rock Steady Boxing in Missoula for helping him cope with the challenges brought on by his disease in the last several years.

Donations in John’s memory can be made to either St Ignatius Middle School, for a “Buddy Bench” to help carry on John’s kindness and dedication to education by mailing a donation to St. Ignatius Schools, P.O. Box 1540, St. Ignatius, MT 59865, or to Fort Connah Restoration Society, P.O. Box 82, Charlo, MT 59824 or fortconnah.com to help sustain the preservation of local history.

Please join us in celebrating John’s life from 1-4 p.m. Nov. 9 at Fort Connah, near St. Ignatius.