Bobby Lee Gentry, 72

Bobby Lee Gentry, 72, formerly of Eureka, passed away on Saturday, March 15, 2008, at the Brendan House in Kalispell, of complications from lung cancer. He moved to Kalispell from Eureka to be closer to medical facilities. He was born on Jan. 17, 1936, at Waynesville, N.C., to Emma Mae Gentry.

He spent most of his childhood in Lenoir, N.C., but had many memorable summers spent with family in Haywood County. He attended Kings Creek Grade School and two years at Kings Creek High School in Lenoir, and worked in small mills in North Carolina and Montana before entering the Navy.

He took a trip as a teenager to Eureka, about 1952, with a nephew of Collis Walker and fell in love with the people and the area and it became his second home. He was back in Eureka the next year to visit again.

He was in the Navy from 1955 to 1959, visiting many places in the Pacific. After a few years working around the Eureka area he signed up with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and sailed with them for several years surveying the ocean in areas from Hawaii to Alaska, sailing out of Seattle.

In 1980 he returned to Eureka for a visit and stayed 27 years. He met Donna Sederdahl Anderson and on Aug. 17, 1984, Bob and Donna were married in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He became a special stepfather to her two children, Vikki and James Anderson.

He worked in the logging industry in the Seeley-Swan area and then for Gwynn Lumber Company. After Gwynn's sold their trucks, he got a job in 1999 with the U.S. Forest Service as the Black Butte Fire Lookout, a job he held for 11 years until he decided to retire in 2001.

He loved NASCAR racing and would try to get to at least one race each year. He was an avid Seahawk football fan as well as Duke basketball.

He was forever telling stories of working in all the small lumber mills in the area in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was easy to get jobs; he and his friends changed jobs often. He worked for the Holder Brothers, Keltners, Clarks and others.

He and his friends won the Kootenai River Raft Race for Eureka in 1961, much to the dismay of Libby. The young group of friends were called the Jelly Bean Bandits by the older generation in the popular Stockman's bar in Eureka.

Bob was a quiet, but strong person. He overcame his drinking problem and smoking and was proud to have over 25 years of sobriety and a non-smoker.

He was a very talented carpenter and with his hobby of the traditional art of chip-carving made many gifts of decorative plates and boxes. He made furniture by looking at a picture and finishing it with his own little touches. He also enjoyed growing apples, which he carefully thinned to make the biggest apples.

He liked to hike and made walking sticks from wood he found on his walks. He loved to travel and always enjoyed visiting North Carolina. He became interested in his family history and visited many of the places where the McGees and the Gentrys had lived in 1700s and 1800s.

Bob was preceded in death by his mother, Emma; a brother, Mike; and nephew, Michael.

He is survived by his wife Donna of Kalispell; stepchildren, James and his wife Jen, and Vikki and husband Bryan; and several cousins in North Carolina.

Montana and North Carolina were both near and dear to his heart. A memorial stone will be placed in Eureka but his ashes will be buried in Lenoir near his mother and brother. Relatives will have graveside services at a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery in Lenoir.

There are no services planned for Bob.

Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Bob's family. You are invited to go to www.johnsonmortuary.com to offer condolences and sign Bob's guest book.