Frank Ruzziconi, 95

A longtime resident of Greenland, Mich., and Orofino, Idaho, passed away Dec. 15, 2008, at Brendan House in Kalispell, after a brief illness. He would have been 96 years old on Dec. 17. Frank was born in Sassoferrato, Italy, in 1912. He came to America as an infant via Ellis Island, New York, and grew up in Iron River, Mich.

Frank worked in sawmills most of his life. He was a sawyer, filer and millwright, sometimes all three at the same time. He helped build two large sawmills from scratch, and also owned his own small mill where he did work for people during evenings and weekends. You could say Frank had sawdust in his veins.

Frank decided to move to Idaho in 1953 to follow the lumber business. He loaded up his family, and whatever they could fit into the trunk of the car, and headed west to start a new life. His first two years in Idaho were spent in Weippe, working as a sawyer at the Ehlinger mill. The family moved to Orofino in 1955. Frank then spent 14 years working at the Berklund mill in Elk City, Idaho. He traveled 100 miles each way every week and returned home on the weekends to be with his family. Later he worked at the Konkol and Brandt mills in Orofino, the Potlatch mill in Lewiston, Idaho, and on the Dworshak Dam in Orofino until its completion.

In 2000 Frank and his wife, Lenore, moved to Kalispell, to be closer to their daughter, Sharon. He was active and in relatively good health until his sudden illness.

Frank was an adventurous man. He learned to fly airplanes back in the 1940s and at times had a plane of his own. He loved hunting, fishing, metal detecting, picking berries and just being out in the woods.

Frank is survived by his two daughters, Karen Hollinga and son-in-law, Ken, of Lompoc, Calif., and Sharon Androes and son-in-law, Herman, of Kalispell; and the son he never had, nephew Don Anttila. Other family members include three grandchildren, Kim Herberholt and husband, Rob, of Saint Louis, Jennifer Androes of Haiku, Hawaii, and Kristen Hollinga of Jacksonville, Fla. He has two great-granddaughters, Kate and Erin Herberholt, and numerous other nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death were his wife Lenore, infant daughter Colleen Mary, his parents, two brothers and a sister.

His request was for cremation with no public services. A private family memorial will be held at a later date. If you wish, you may remember Frank with a donation to your favorite charity.