John J. Smithson, 82
John J. Smithson, 82, passed away on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, at his home in Kalispell. He was born in Chinook on Sept. 26, 1926, to Roy and Ora (Hamaker) Smithson. He was raised on the family ranch (North Slope Ranch) near Hogeland until age 20. He had four siblings, Louise, George, Jean and Bill.
On one of his trips with cattle to St. Paul, Minn., he met Alda Anderson in Dawson, Minn. They were married June 21, 1947, in Dawson and returned to the ranch near Hogeland for a short while before moving to Havre. They had three children during this time, Susan, John and James.
In Havre, he worked for Culligan Soft Water and the Havre Transfer before becoming a credit manager at the F.A. Buttrey Co. for several years. He was asked to work for Petrolane Gas Co., a propane gas company and ended up working 35 years there. He started on as district manager in Kalispell and then transferred to Nevada, California, Rhode Island, and Alaska. He covered 11 states in the northeast as area and operations manager for the company, was regional manager for the state of Alaska in 1977, and in 1982 was transferred to Long Beach, Calif., working at the Petrolane Tidewater Terminal before becoming a safety manager for six Southwestern states. His company was sold in 1989, and they decided to go back to Kalispell to retire.
John lived 20 miles from the Canadian border while growing up and had never been to Canada by age 20. Since then, he and his wife covered 48 states and Europe, England, Australia and New Zealand, and also bought a home in Mesa, Ariz., and lived there for 13 winters until ill health forced them to sell in 2003.
John was a member of the Northridge Lutheran Church and Kalispell Kiwanis, and also did some volunteering after retiring. Unfortunately, he had major spinal surgery in 2004 and never did recover. He will be remembered as a quiet, hard-working gentleman whose family and friends meant a lot to him.
John was preceded in death by his mother and father.
He is survived by his wife, Alda; and their children, Susan Smith and Virgil of Davis, Calif., John Jerald Smithson and Diane of Renton, Wash., and Jim Smithson and Diane of Fernley, Nev.; sister, Louise Divish, of Havre; brother, George Smithson, of Westport, Wash.; sister, Jean Shawlee, of Auburn, Calif.; and brother, Bill Smithson, of Melba, Idaho; plus two grandchildren, Trisha Halsey and Bryan of Littleton Colo., and Blake Meier and Dawnielle of Elk Grove, Calif.; and one great-grandson, Noah Halsey, who was born in March. He also leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins and many dear friends.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at the Northridge Lutheran Church, with Pastor Dan Heskett officiating. Interment will be at Glacier Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be sent to Northridge Lutheran Church, 323 Northridge Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901.
Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for John's family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and sign John's guest book.