Richard Wade Montgomery, Sr.

Richard Wade Montgomery, Sr., passed away Saturday, December 15, 2012, at his home with his family and Marian, his devoted wife of 66 years, at his side. He was born November 24, 1925, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the son of the late Josephine and Arthur Montgomery.

Richard was raised in Council Bluffs. He graduated early from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1944 to fight in WWII, enlisting in the Army Air Corp. He was stationed in England and served as a tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator. He received many commendations for the numerous bombing missions he flew over Nazi Germany.

He returned home to Council Bluffs after the war and married his high school sweetheart, Marian L. Cochran, on November 19, 1946. He started work as a lineman for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, working his way up and finally retiring from the telephone company as an engineer in 1975. The couple lived in many communities in Iowa; most of those years were spent in Mason City, where they raised their three children.

Richard was active in Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City, serving as a Deacon for many years, and a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Hamilton. He volunteered as a Cub Scout troop leader while the boys were growing up. He enjoyed hunting ducks and pheasants in the Iowa corn fields and fishing in northern Minnesota, where he would take the family for the annual vacation fishing and swimming on Lake Ada, and later on Blackwater Lake. He loved construction, and he built and supervised the construction of numerous homes for his family in Mason City, Phoenix, and here in Hamilton. His favorite project was the building of a family cabin and guest cottage on Blackwater Lake, utilizing the "slave labor" of his offspring. The family holds many fond memories of times spent together at the cabins.

After retiring, the couple spent their summers at their cabins in Minnesota and in Canada and wintered at their home on the golf course in Mesa, Arizona. They moved to Hamilton in 1980, where they eventually made their year-round home.

Richard is survived by his wife Marian, son Jeff and wife Bonnie of Hamilton; son Richard, Jr. and wife Becky of Albia, Iowa; daughter Dr. Paula Belcher and husband Dr. Allen Belcher, of Eugene, Oregon; 8 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; and sister, Jody Shew of Bend, Oregon.

A private family memorial service and internment will take place on December 27 at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Missoula.