Wayne Gary Treat, 64

Wayne Gary Treat, 64, "headed on his final hike along Highway 2 to heaven" on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Columbia Falls. Wayne was born in Radisson, Wis., on May 21, 1944, to Howard and Marion (Jordan) Treat.

Shortly after his birth they moved to Marion, where Wayne spent the majority of his childhood wandering the backwoods, hunting deer and enjoying the outdoors. Wayne loved the outdoors and everything about it. He saw beauty in the forest, the mountains, the clouds, and the stars. In his teens he worked on a number of ranches in the Marion area and met up with a lifelong friend, David Miller (now deceased). He and Dave hiked many a trail and hiked to many mountaintops both in the Park and in the Flathead National Forest. He said he carved his initials on Mount Aeneas.

He attended Marion School (one-room schoolhouse) during grade school and then attended Flathead High School, graduating in 1963.

Wayne joined the Army in April 1965 and served until March 1968. He was stationed at Fort Leonardwood, Mo., for his basic training and served the majority of his tour in Germany. He talked many times about the beauty of Germany and the friendliness of the people.

Wayne attended one semester at Montana State University in Bozeman, but decided that what he really wanted was to be back in the Flathead Valley that he loved. He enrolled at Flathead Valley Community College in the forest technology program and spent his summers as a temporary worker for the U.S. Forest Service, including one summer at the old Raven Work Center on the Kootenai and then had several seasons as a station guard (fire) at the Big Creek Work Center. His trips with various fire crews added flavor to his stories about work. On a fire assignment, Wayne fell asleep on a mountainside with the fire crew and while he was sleeping, two of the women on his crew stuck wild wheat stalks in his mouth. When he woke up he was laughing right along with the crew.

Wayne and Patsy met during their college days when Wayne was driving his 1957 Chevy through Kalispell. They were married July 1, 1972, at St. Matthews Church. Wayne and Patsy had two sons, Brad in 1977 and Robin in 1981. He loved his boys and attended any sporting event they were in involved in, and was also involved with coaching baseball, helping with Cub Scouts, and fundraising for cross country.

Wayne always wanted a permanent position with the Forest Service. His dream came true in 1975 when he went to work as a civil engineering technician for the Flathead National Forest. He worked 38 years for the Forest Service, retiring in January 2007.

In addition to being a classic car enthusiast, he also loved to collect coins. When he retired in 2007 he started taking long hikes, sometimes as far as 10 to 12 miles, finding coins, tools, and whatever valuable goodies along the highways in the valley. He loved the sound of the train whistle and often pulled over to watch the trains speed by through the Badrock Canyon.

He is survived by his wife, Patsy, of Kalispell; two sons, Brad Treat and his wife, Somer, of West Glacier, and Robin Treat and fiancee, Amy Dana, of Missoula; three sisters, Yvonne Leonard and her husband, Don, of Nevada, Patsy McWhorter and her husband, Rusty, of Oregon, and his twin sister, Lorraine, of Canada; a brother, Ronnie Treat, and wife, Lucille, of Washington; and a number of nieces, nephews and other relatives.

There will be a celebration of life from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at the family home for family and friends.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Wayne Treat Scholarship Fund at any Parkside Federal Credit Union in the valley.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Wayne's family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and sign Wayne's guest book.