George Anthony Caffrey, 86
George Anthony Caffrey was born in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 1922, to George Sr., and Clara (Dressman) Caffrey. He was their second child, with older sister Catherine and younger sister Mary.
When his health failed in 2002, he moved to the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls, where he was well-liked by the staff, until his death on Nov. 6, 2008.
After his father died in a firefighting mishap in 1926, the family moved to Cumberland, Md. There he spent his young years, growing up during the Great Depression. As he became a young man, he spent some time in the Civilian Conservation Corps and hoboing around the country.
In 1942, he joined the U.S. Army, where he participated in the Allied invasions of North Africa and Southern France. As a member of the 45th "Thunderbird" Division, he participated in the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Dachau. Even many years later he would speak of what he saw there with a deep and somber passion.
After World War II, he spent most of the next five years in Europe as both a civilian and a soldier. There he met his wife-to-be in Heidelberg, Germany, and while living in Venice, Italy, he had some adventures that were the basis for many fond tales. He married Waltraud "Wally" Margarete Oeftering in 1950 in Germany.
The young couple moved to Denver shortly thereafter. After a spell of civilian life, he re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and soon set off with Wally and two young sons on a two-decade career around the world: Japan, Okinawa, South Dakota, Spain, Montana, Arizona and California, with temporary assignments in Greenland and Saudi Arabia. Whether fishing and hunting in northeastern Montana, serving as a Boy Scout leader or discovering the rich cultural fabric of Spain, he always made the most of wherever he was.
After achieving the highest enlisted rank of chief master sergeant, he retired from the Air Force in 1971. Within a year he and Wally purchased a modest home in the Mission Valley, which they set about turning into their own little piece of Eden.
George was not one to dawdle away his "golden years." He went to college on the GI Bill, earning a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Montana in Missoula in 1976.
He loved fishing throughout western Montana, especially when accompanied by his irrepressible black lab Boris. He was also an avid gardener and a self-taught carpenter. He worked overseas for a year each, in Iran and Saudi Arabia, went on archaeological digs, taught geography at Salish-Kootenai College, was active in local environmental and peace groups, and loved to give gifts of homemade wine. In his later years he traveled regularly, visiting every continent to sample the world's folkways and cultural glories.
He was a man who achieved the goals he set for himself. He provided for his family, loved his wife, encouraged his sons, delighted in his grandchildren, served his country, and mastered many challenges. He was never afraid to have and speak his own mind. He will be admired, remembered and missed.
He is survived by his wife, Wally, of Columbia Falls; his sister, Mary Stephens, of Clearwater, Fla.; sons, Patrick Caffrey and Jeannie of Seeley Lake, and Gregory Caffrey of Helena; granddaughters, Marlayna Caffrey of Helena, and Krista Caffrey, Sarah Caffrey and Jannah Caffrey, all of Missoula; grandson, Daniel Caffrey, of Missoula; and great-grandson, Bryan Caffrey, of Helena.
Following cremation, burial will follow at a later date in view of his beloved Mission Mountains.