After the Whistle: Remembering those who passed away in 2021 | Local

Margaret Eagle, 100, enjoyed snow skiing at Bridger Bowl, near the family cabin, well into her 80s. Jim Hahn, 97, competed at calf-roping in his younger days, and later gave ski lessons at Belmont and partook in a lifetime of rounds on the golf course. Bill Leary, 93, played baseball for the US Marine team in Hawaii during WWII. At Montana State, Bill played football and baseball for the Bobcats, and years later he umpired Legion ball in Helena.

Leo Walchuk, 92, after retiring, ventured into horse racing when he purchased a colt from Secretariat, eventually blossoming into a stable of 17 race horses that he raced throughout the Pacific Northwest. Dick Kinzer, 91, coached the 1970 Helena High basketball team to a State runner-up trophy, before guiding the Bengals to the championship in 1971. Don Betts, 90, was an all-star basketball player for South Summit (Idaho) High in the late 1940s, and also played on multiple LDS teams.

Everett March, 89, coached all of his children’s sports, and enjoyed fly-fishing the upper Madison River and golfing. Jerry Hughes, 88, was a four-sport athlete at Wyoming Community High, Illinois, and went on to become an accomplished lifelong golfer. Olive Anne Price, 88, a longtime horseman, raced barrels and rode on Seattle’s all-girl “Westernaires” riding team, while training 16 different horses during her youth.

Clayton Sheets, 87, enjoyed the shooting sports, hunting, river float trips, boating, fishing trips to Alaska and attending UM Griz football games. David Westenbarger, 87, a native of Lancaster, Ohio, and a devout bicyclist, earned two Presidential Sports Awards for jogging and racquetball. He reveled in snowshoeing, backpacking, snowmobiling, and canoeing the Mighty Mo, as well.

Ray Farrell, 85, was a standout youth baseball player in Cut Bank, later coached his children on diamonds around the state, and umpired local area Little League baseball during the summers. Gretchen (Huber) Olheiser, 85, competed in the Governor’s Cup races from 1979-2011, missing only four GCs in 31 years. Gretchen and husband Joe were also avid Helena Brewers and Senators baseball fans, rarely missing a local game during that same stretch.

Jean Applegate, 83, spent over 50 years in the bowling community, taking on the duties of League Secretary in nearly every league she bowled in. She also spent many years as a Director of the Helena Women’s Bowling Association (HWBA) and later with the Helena USBC. In 2019, Jean’s family was selected the Montana Bowling Family of the Year.  Butch Lipes, 83, had many outdoor hobbies, including hunting, fishing, archery, horseshoes, snowmobiling and 4-wheeling/side by side.

George Miller, 82, had been a standout prep basketball player in Billings, while running the sprints and hurdler for the track team. Harry Emmons, 81, was a national champion Equestrian horseman from New Jersey as a teenager, and many years later he served as president for the Montana Horse Association.

Jerry Luchau, 81, a lifelong and vigorous fitness fanatic, was co-owner of Capital Courts Health Club. Rich Munger, 80, who played football for Helena High in the late 1950s, had an encyclopedic knowledge of local sports history. Doug Peterson, Jr., 77, was a member of the Helena High and Belmont ski teams, a two-time Last Chance Stampede Rodeo amateur bareback bronc titlist, and owner of the multiple-time world champion steer wrestling horse “Gunner.”

Dan Gervais, 77, made a 1,149-foot bungie jump off the top of Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Hotel at 69 years of age. Stan Kangas, 76, was into physical fitness, hunting and mountaineering. John Maki, 75, operated his own fly-fishing guide and big game outfitting business with his wife Susan for over 40 years, gaining hundreds of friendships…and even more stories of his exploits.

Leroy Much, 74, enjoyed the water sports of tubing and knee boarding. Leroy also had a passion for racing stock cars, and was an avid league bowler. Mirl Muchmore, 74, a tough local rodeo cowboy for three decades, captured the first round of bulldogging at the 1974 Calgary Stampede, in 3.8 seconds, pocketing $1,490 in prize money. Pamela (Jenereaux) Peil, 73, enjoyed deep sea fishing off the coast of Mexico, rock hunting, bowling and camping.

Rod Luck, 72, a Helena Cathedral High grad and a 4-year Helena Legion pitcher, led the state in wins in 1966 with a 10-6 record, while posting a 1.61 ERA and fanning 124 batsmen. After a career in sports casting, he became a popular San Diego TV personality. Debbie Nielsen, 72, pursued cross country/alpine skiing, water skiing, horseback riding and camping out. 

Quentin Miller, 71, captured the 1968 Southern Division heavyweight wrestling championship for the Bozeman Hawks, and later played football for the MSU Bobcats. Ron Briggeman, 70, was among a handful of bowlers to shoot a 300 game in all four local alleys – Capital City Bowl, Imperial, Crossfire and Sleeping Giant Lanes. He was also a member of the storied Village Inn slowpitch softball team.

Lanny O’Leary, 69, a second-generation member of the fabled “Fighting O’Learys,” boxed for the Helena Tykers and Helena Tigers in the 1960s. Larry Pfeiffer, 69, played football for Helena Central High and Helena High from 1967-69, prior to a lifelong career of “cow pasture pool” on the local golf links. Al Thompson, 68, grew up in the rural areas of Montana and Wyoming, and competed at rodeoing prior to serving as the UM rodeo club coach in the 1980s

Pat Ferryman, 68, HHS Class of 1971, ranked among Missoula’s best pool players. Among his highlights was a runner-up finish at the Montana Coin-Op 8-ball Championship tourney. Theo Nehl, 64, a passionate golfer and hunter, he loved playing in golf tournaments, especially with one of his daughters. Mark Putnam, 63, was a member of the University of Washington’s nationally ranked crew (rowing) team.

Dennis McSweeney, 63, a longtime volunteer for the East-West Shrine Game, drove across the state seeking deserving gridders for the event. Dennis also officiated prep softball. Scott Sim, 62, who graduated from Cut Bank High and MSU, had been a fearless motocross racer back in the day, acquiring several broken bones in the process.

Joe Robinson, 62, was a 3-sport athlete for Capital High in the mid-1970s, and went on to a Carroll College Hall of Fame career as defensive back/punt returner/backup quarterback for the Saints’ football team. Bart Toney, 62, a tireless outdoorsman, held a passion for jet-skiing, snowmobiling, hiking and boating. Mark Erickson, 61, enjoyed the sporting activities of skiing, snowmobiling, golfing, shooting, snowboarding, scuba diving, fishing and zip-lining.

Ernie Lees, 61, loved to spend his free time hunting and fishing, at places like the Tenderfoot, Stemple Pass, Smith River, Alaska and his cabin. He also had several secret fishing holes not shared with others. Randy Pugh, 59, was an amazing snow skier, spending 100 days per season at Bridger Bowl while attending MSU, and later exhibiting his extraordinary talents at Big Sky and in the Canadian Rockies.

Charity Lynne Schlosser-Ashworth, 59, actively pursued her hobbies of fly-fishing, four-wheeling, horseback riding, camping out, and just getting outdoors in general. Ona Howey, 58, of Boulder, followed her love of horses as a young woman to the racetracks of Montana and five other states, working as a groom and hot walker. Margi McMahon, 54, was a member of the 1984 Helena High State championship girls’ basketball team.

Suitoa “Big Man” Keleti, 53, a native of American Samoa, was a 6-foot-4, 305-pound All-American lineman for Carroll College football in the late 1980s. Ron White, 53, an “adventurer at heart” passed away from Covid, after a lifetime of skydiving, skiing, diving, pilot/flying, rock climbing, ice skating and Spartan races. Peter Bovingdon, 52, was a snow-skier, lacrosse player, motorcyclist, mountain biker and skateboarder.

Eugene “Alex” Betz, 50, participated at soccer, baseball, football, cross country, and hockey, while growing up Great Falls. He later developed a lifelong love of outdoor nature activities. Keith Harwood, 49, parlayed a fine prep football and wrestling career at Capital High, into a grid scholarship to the University of Mary in 1990. Keith also garnered multiple accolades on the rodeo circuit, in steer wrestling and bareback bronc riding. 

Andy Fitzhugh, 49, passed due to complications from Covid, after an active lifestyle of snow-skiing and mountain biking, which was preceded by playing youth baseball in Frankfort, Michigan, and Kalamazoo College football. Chris Clasby, 48, was a 1990 All-State wrestler for Helena High, before sustaining a paralyzing injury, and going on to become an accomplished quadriplegic archer, fisherman and rifleman. Gordon “Gordo” Hoven, 43, captained the Capital High swim team, and later coached the HLST.

John Mullen, 40, spent a certain portion of his life jumping from ski slopes, while hiking around Glacier Park, Whitefish, Missoula, Sidney and Helena. TJ Tobol, 38, had a deep passion for the outdoors, especially all aspects involved with hunting. Joshua Estes-Kemmerer, 37, a CHS alum, participated in Babe Ruth baseball, soccer, cross country and track, and was a member of the ski team. As an outdoorsman, he hiked across the Grand Canyon and scaled the back side of Yosemite’s Half Dome. 

Tyler Moy, 36, felt more at home outdoors, than in, logging thousands of miles on the mountain trails – from scaling Glacier Park’s Mount Cleveland, to backpacking throughout Europe and New Zealand. But before that, Tyler was a Mohawked tight-end for the 2002 State football champion CHS Bruins.

Bobby Nicola, 34, was a standout youth wrestler and baseball player, and later on a BMX racer and awesome snow boarder, before succumbing to Covid 19. Jackie (Polette) May, 31, a 5-foot-6 volleyball player for Capital, she was twice selected All-State. Jackie established Lady Bruin career records of 126 aces and 532 digs, while garnering a scholarship to Oregon Tech University.

Brian Foster, 30, played football, basketball and baseball, and ran track. James Jewett, 25, a running back for Capital High football, received the Tuss Award as “the offensive player who best exemplifies what a Bruin is, putting the team ahead of themselves.” Kailey Logan, 19, was a talented barrel racer. Hope “Luka” Manley-Hay, 14, enjoyed horseback riding, and playing volleyball and softball.