William 'Bill' LaPierre Engle, 74
William L. Engle, 74, of Kalispell, formerly of the Broadus-Belle Creek area, “went to be with his Lord” on Dec. 29, 2012, surrounded by family at the home of his daughter near Gillette, Wyo.
Bill was born Feb. 20, 1938, in Glendive.
He was raised by his grandparents, William S. and Anna Engle, near Springview, Neb.
At age 17, they returned to Glendive where Bill joined the Montana National Guard, serving nine years.
Bill married Irene Tuhy in 1958, in Glendive.
He learned about heavy equipment and mechanics working for Davis & Engle Construction, and Ross & Power. In 1962, he worked for George Rake Construction in the oil fields of eastern Montana and northwestern North Dakota before being transferred to the booming oil field in Belle Creek in 1967. In 1977, Bill and Irene formed E. & E. Oil Field Construction Inc., building pipelines and providing roustabout services in the Wyoming and Montana oil fields.
In 1988, Bill and his son, Jeff, moved a hobby sawmill to Kalispell, developing it into a timber and by-products from sawdust business, and creating a quality pellet for use in pellet stoves. He retired from the plant in 2003, but continued to work with his backhoe and welder until 2012, when his health prevented him from such activities.
Bill got his private airplane license at age 31, and his CDL license at 72. He loved challenges and was gifted at designing and building projects. He built their first color tube TV, his first boat and the automation at their plant. There wasn’t a job too big for him to take on. If you put a welder/cutting torch, scrap iron, and nuts and bolts in his hand, he would happily design, build or redesign someone else’s finished project. His favorite saying was, “What engineer put this together?”
Bill’s favorite hobby was using his skills helping his children and teaching his sons-in-law.
Bill and Irene enjoyed camping, hunting, boating and fishing with their children and other family members. They also enjoyed vacationing in Mexico and stateside with Irene’s sister and husband. Every summer they looked forward to “camping” in the motorhome, visiting children and family members, and spending time with their church family at the Nazarene Church camp meetings. Bill only missed four camp meetings in 22 years.
Bill is survived by his wife, Irene; son, Jeffrey and Maryln of Biddle, Mont.; daughters, Lisa Engle and Chuck Knuppel of Columbia Falls, Theresa and Mitch Burley of Gillette, Wyo., Melissa and Paul Lewis of Eatonville, Wash., and Vanessa and Kurtis Smitko of Grand Rapids, Mich.; mother, Rose Vaage of Kalispell; uncle, L.K. and Hazel Engle of Ainsworth, Neb.; sisters-in-law, Helen and Shirley; 12 grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, and many friends. He also leaves behind his favorite “hound,” Cuddles.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents; his father, William S. Engle; stepmother, Jeannie Engle; stepfather, Owen Vaage; uncles, K.L. and Lester Engle; brothers, Tom and Keith Engle; sister and brother-in-law, Arline and Cliff Bonner; and nephews, David Engle and David M. Engle.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20 at the Church of the Nazarene, 1295 Whitefish Stage Road. Scattering of his ashes will be at the Reisland Ranch in Belle Creek this summer.
Memorials may be sent in Bill’s name to a charity of choice.