Bigfork MT Funeral Homes
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Heart-felt tributes to honor a dear friend or loved one who has passed away
8820 Mount Highway 35
Bigfork, MT 59911
(406) 752-0336
Bigfork MT Obituaries and Death Notices
Monday, March 27, 2017Glacier National Park, 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since age 3, when my entire extended family traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. Memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galleries selling paintings of landscapes and wildlife, bronze sculptures of grizzly bears and $500 cookie jars made of ornately carved wood. The lakefront is now home to an exclusive beach club and huge summer homes. And on a nearby island, the largest and most expensive residence in Montana was for sale for a deeply discounted $39 million.A warm impressionWhen I began searching online for affordable hotels for our family of three, I was stunned to find almost nothing for less than $200 a night. Not even chain motels in the larger neighboring city of Kalispell. Not even campgrounds, which were booked solid. Eventually, though, I pieced together an itinerary: an Airbnb here, a few midweek days at a midrange motel there, and one night at the home of a relative.For $112, our Airbnb in Big Arm was a surprisingly large, two-bedroom apartment with a wraparound deck, a narrow view of the lake and a washer and dryer — a bargain in this pricey terrain. But even with a well-equipped kitchen, we decided to eat out. Normally, we would save our splurge for the tail end of a trip, but after so many hours (and days) on the road, a steak dinner had become our finish line reward.In Polson (the nearest town), a local recommended 101 Main St., a steak and seafood restaurant that dry-ages its own beef. For the price of a mediocre plate of pasta in Manhattan, my husband, Tim, and I shared a large, tasty ribeye — praised by our...
Monday, October 24, 2016Glacier National Park, just 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since I was 3, when my entire extended family — called the “California Evanses” — traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. My memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galleries selling paintings of landscapes and wildlife, bronze sculptures of grizzly bears and $500 cookie jars made of ornately carved wood. The lakefront is now home to an exclusive beach club and huge summer homes. And on a nearby island, the largest and most expensive residence in Montana was for sale for a deeply discounted $39 million.When I began searching online for affordable hotels for our family of three, I was stunned to find almost nothing for less than $200 a night. Not even chain motels in the larger neighboring city of Kalispell. Not even campgrounds, which were booked solid. Eventually, though, I pieced together an itinerary: an Airbnb here, a few midweek days at a midrange motel there, and one night at the home of a relative.We arrived in Big Arm, a community on the lake’s southwest side, after traveling through five Western states with Roxie and too much stuff in a tiny Toyota hatchback. The final leg of the trip — Northeast Oregon to Montana — ended up being our longest single day of driving. And by the time we checked into our Airbnb, we had been on the road from breakfast to dinner. Even with stops, those are a lot of hours in the car for a toddler who seems to live for crawling and climbing. But Roxie handled her car-bound captivity like a stoic champion, with only the occasional outburst of understandable frustration.For $112, our Big Arm Airbnb was a surprisingly large, two-bedroom apartment with a wraparound deck, a narrow view of the lake and a washer and dryer — ...
Monday, August 15, 2016Rajala was the rare timber man who was able to build a bridge between his family's logging business and those who wanted to conserve forests.Part of the third generation of a lumber mill family from Bigfork, Minn., Rajala expanded Rajala Companies Inc. into an international business. "He grew the business exponentially with veneer and exports to Asia," said Al Hodnik, who served on the board of Allete Inc. with Rajala.Rajala, who died of a brain tumor at age 77 on Aug. 2, gradually changed how he viewed the forest over the course of his career."He had a vision for the forest that was about access, recreation, water quality, a habitat for fish and wildlife and community interaction," said Susan Schmidt, director of the Trust for Public Land in St. Paul. "It wasn't just a forest that had an economic return."His son Nathan Rajala said that he doubted his father was interested in sustainable forestry early in his career. But by the 1970s, more of the company's profits were going into buying land for replacing and replenishing."He wanted to preserve what remained of the white pine," he said.Over more than 25 years, Jack Rajala oversaw the planting of more than a million white pine seedlings...
Monday, July 11, 2016Madison Brooke Duke, 17, was known as a kind, caring, lovable and bright student by teachers and staff members at Bigfork High School.Madison, who was wearing her seat belt, died of head injuries Sunday afternoon when the sport utility vehicle she was in rolled off U.S. 93 north of Kalispell and caught fire, according to law enforcement. Another youth, who was driving the vehicle, survived. Both had been pulled out of the vehicle by witnesses.Madison would have been a senior at Bigfork High School this fall.“We are all shocked and saddened by this event. We are sharing this information with our staff and students so they know the facts and know where to receive support if desired,” Bigfork School District Superintendent Matt Jensen wrote in a newsletter emailed to parents and the school community Monday. “Our prayers are with the Duke family.”Counselors were made available Tuesday to students in two counseling sessions at the elementary and middle school. Jensen said in a phone interview Tuesday that additional sessions would be added as needed.“We are saddened,” Jensen said. “She was a lovely kid...
Bigfork News
Monday, March 27, 2017Glacier National Park, 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since age 3, when my entire extended family traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. Memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galleries selling paintings of landscapes and wildlife, bronze sculptures of grizzly bears and $500 cookie jars made of ornately carved wood. The lakefront is now home to an exclusive beach club and huge summer homes. And on a nearby island, the largest and most expensive residence in Montana was for sale for a deeply discounted $39 million.A warm impressionWhen I began searching online for affordable hotels for our family of three, I was stunned to find almost nothing for less than $200 a night. Not even chain motels in the larger neighboring city of Kalispell. Not even campgrounds, which were booked solid. Eventually, though, I pieced together an itinerary: an Airbnb here, a few midweek days at a midrange motel there, and one night at the home of a relative.For $112, our Airbnb in Big Arm was a surprisingly large, two-bedroom apartment with a wraparound deck, a narrow view of the lake and a washer and dryer — a bargain in this pricey terrain. But even with a well-equipped kitchen, we decided to eat out. Normally, we would save our splurge for the tail end of a trip, but after so many hours (and days) on the road, a steak dinner had become our finish line reward.In Polson (the nearest town), a local recommended 101 Main St., a steak and seafood restaurant that dry-ages its own beef. For the price of a mediocre plate of pasta in Manhattan, my husband, Tim, and I shared a large, tasty ribeye — praised by our...
Monday, October 24, 2016Glacier National Park, just 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since I was 3, when my entire extended family — called the “California Evanses” — traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. My memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galleries selling paintings of landscapes and wildlife, bronze sculptures of grizzly bears and $500 cookie jars made of ornately carved wood. The lakefront is now home to an exclusive beach club and huge summer homes. And on a nearby island, the largest and most expensive residence in Montana was for sale for a deeply discounted $39 million.When I began searching online for affordable hotels for our family of three, I was stunned to find almost nothing for less than $200 a night. Not even chain motels in the larger neighboring city of Kalispell. Not even campgrounds, which were booked solid. Eventually, though, I pieced together an itinerary: an Airbnb here, a few midweek days at a midrange motel there, and one night at the home of a relative.We arrived in Big Arm, a community on the lake’s southwest side, after traveling through five Western states with Roxie and too much stuff in a tiny Toyota hatchback. The final leg of the trip — Northeast Oregon to Montana — ended up being our longest single day of driving. And by the time we checked into our Airbnb, we had been on the road from breakfast to dinner. Even with stops, those are a lot of hours in the car for a toddler who seems to live for crawling and climbing. But Roxie handled her car-bound captivity like a stoic champion, with only the occasional outburst of understandable frustration.For $112, our Big Arm Airbnb was a surprisingly large, two-bedroom apartment with a wraparound deck, a narrow view of the lake and a washer and dryer — ...
Monday, August 15, 2016Rajala was the rare timber man who was able to build a bridge between his family's logging business and those who wanted to conserve forests.Part of the third generation of a lumber mill family from Bigfork, Minn., Rajala expanded Rajala Companies Inc. into an international business. "He grew the business exponentially with veneer and exports to Asia," said Al Hodnik, who served on the board of Allete Inc. with Rajala.Rajala, who died of a brain tumor at age 77 on Aug. 2, gradually changed how he viewed the forest over the course of his career."He had a vision for the forest that was about access, recreation, water quality, a habitat for fish and wildlife and community interaction," said Susan Schmidt, director of the Trust for Public Land in St. Paul. "It wasn't just a forest that had an economic return."His son Nathan Rajala said that he doubted his father was interested in sustainable forestry early in his career. But by the 1970s, more of the company's profits were going into buying land for replacing and replenishing."He wanted to preserve what remained of the white pine," he said.Over more than 25 years, Jack Rajala oversaw the planting of more than a million white pine seedlings...
Monday, July 11, 2016Madison Brooke Duke, 17, was known as a kind, caring, lovable and bright student by teachers and staff members at Bigfork High School.Madison, who was wearing her seat belt, died of head injuries Sunday afternoon when the sport utility vehicle she was in rolled off U.S. 93 north of Kalispell and caught fire, according to law enforcement. Another youth, who was driving the vehicle, survived. Both had been pulled out of the vehicle by witnesses.Madison would have been a senior at Bigfork High School this fall.“We are all shocked and saddened by this event. We are sharing this information with our staff and students so they know the facts and know where to receive support if desired,” Bigfork School District Superintendent Matt Jensen wrote in a newsletter emailed to parents and the school community Monday. “Our prayers are with the Duke family.”Counselors were made available Tuesday to students in two counseling sessions at the elementary and middle school. Jensen said in a phone interview Tuesday that additional sessions would be added as needed.“We are saddened,” Jensen said. “She was a lovely kid...
