'His worn-out fire boots will be hard to fill'

Community members and local fire departments will pay respects to one of their longest serving fire chiefs on Saturday, May 29, at a memorial service in Bigfork.

George “Sonny” Michael Kahn Jr., who was chief of the Swan Lake Volunteer Fire Department for 45 years, will be remembered through a service at 11 a.m. at Lone Pine Cemetery in Bigfork.

A number of fire departments including Bigfork, Creston, Ferndale, Polson, Swan Lake and West Valley, as well as members of the Montana Department of Natural Resources, plan to be present for the memorial.

Kahn, 76, died in February from a stroke.

Kahn joined the department in 1960. After five years as a firefighter, he became chief and served in that capacity until his death. Mark Brady was appointed to the position in March.

“[Sonny] had a love for the department and the qualified men in it,” said Carla Toycen Kahn, his wife of 52 years. “Safety was very important to Sonny. He never missed training, even in other areas of the state.”

The firefighters he worked with remember him for his spirit and the way he ran the department.

“He ran it by example, you always felt like he was taking care of his men,” said Larry Braillard, a firefighter who worked with Sonny Kahn. “There wasn’t a time that he didn’t have safety on his mind and his men were first... He always treated me like I was already a fireman even though I was definitely a golfer.”

Leon Ostrowski, another firefighter, recalled a three-week stint at a fire camp at Trout Creek, and how despite the department’s size and older equipment, Sonny helped prove that his team and his water tender could be “the yellow engine that did.”

“It was his love for others no matter what and his courage as a man that helped me to be a better man,” Ostrowski said.

After five decades in the department, Kahn’s absence has been apparent, members say.

“Sonny’s passing has left us with a huge hole in our department, our community and our hearts,” firefighter Randy Gordon said.

As fellow firefighter Kyle Luckow put it, “His worn-out fire boots will be hard to fill.”

Kahn was born in Hinsdale and grew up in the Flathead Valley. He graduated from Flathead High School in 1952.

Outside the fire department, Kahn was a trustee on the Bigfork School Board when his daughter Kelly was in high school in the 1970s. Kahn also was known in winter for plowing driveways and private roads on his Ford tractor.

“Whatever needed to be done, they called on Sonny,” Carla said. “Anybody else who needed a helping hand, he was there.”

He was also known for having a sharp eye and solid shot. At age 15, he won a first-place medal as a sharp shooter.

“He was an excellent marksman all his life,” Carla said.

The skills served him well during his years in the U.S. Navy on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in the 1950s. Later in his life, as a hunter, he was known for his “one shot.” Hunting was what he looked forward to, Carla said. He tried for 47 years for a moose permit and never got one.

Kahn was a woodsman, whether it was logging or fighting fires. He worked for Royal Logging and then Plum Creek for 30 years. Even after retiring, he bought his own equipment and piled brush for private owners and Plum Creek. He often said, “I’m tough — I’m a logger.”

Following the graveside service May 29, a celebration of his life will be held at the Swan Lake Community Hall. Lunch will be served.

Kahn left behind his wife, as well as his daughter Kelly, son-in-law Doug Grant and two grandchildren.

“We love and miss him so much every day,” Carla said of her husband. “When an old man dies, a library is gone forever.”