Clarence A. 'Pinky' Bourne, 90
Clarence A. "Pinky" Bourne, 90, passed away Saturday, May 27, 2006, at Colonial Manor Nursing Home.
He was born on the Fourth of July, 1915, in Great Falls, the son of Charles and Louise Bourne.
Pinky and his brother, Earl, were raised in Great Falls, where they attended school. Out of school during the Great Depression , Pinky and his best friend left home and went "on the bum." They saw the Harley Davidson motorcycle factory in Milwaukee, and then rode the rails to see the rest of the country. They returned to Great Falls after a year, and Pinky went to work for the Great Falls Drug Company.
Unable to join the military during World War II because of blindness in one eye, he continued to work as a druggist until 1946, when he became an agronomist for the Montana State Grain Laboratory in Great Falls. He advanced to the position of federal grain supervisor. A chronic throat condition from the grain dust caused him to leave the business.
Pinky married Eva Rose in 1945, and they moved to the Flathead Valley with son, Dan, in 1950, where they bought an old ranch on Marion Stage Route in Foy's Canyon. Pinky ranched and worked in the woods and then returned to work in drug stores.
They sold the ranch in 1967 and moved to Billings, where Pinky managed two apartment houses and continued his saddle-making and fine leather work that he had begun in the 1930s.
Always closely associated with law enforcement, he was an officer in the sheriff's auxiliary. He then worked for the Billings police as a security officer for the Billings airport. In 1974, Pinky was hired as chief of police for the city of Ronan. He worked as chief, special deputy, special tribal officer and special officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs until he retired in 1980.
Pinky did leather work, rode motorcycles since his first 1919 model Harley, and worked as a volunteer for the food bank.
Pinky's wife, Eva, passed away in 1987. With failing eyesight, Pinky moved to Kalispell in 1997 to live near his son, Dan, and his family. Pinky was a common sight, walking around the west side of Kalispell, guided by peripheral vision, his walking stick and his little dog, Taffi. His health failing, he moved to Colonial Manor in 2002.
Pinky was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Eva Rose, all his motorcycle friends and Taffi.
He is survived by his brother, Earl, and Lillian Bourne, of Great Falls, sister, Marlene "Joy" Davis, of Salem, Ore., son, Dan, and Janet Bourne, of Kalispell, granddaughter, Darshan, and John Heston, of Kalispell, granddaughter, Corraun Bourne, of Portland, great-grandsons Jordan and Clayton of Kalispell, and numerous nephews and nieces.
Services for Pinky Bourne will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, 2006, at Faith Alliance Church, 348 Second Ave. W., in Kalispell. A reception will be afterward. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 1, 2006, at Mountain View Cemetery in Ronan. Memorials may be made to any Masonic Scottish Rite program or the Shrine Hospital.