Robert Wesley 'Bob' Pilote, 68
Robert Wesley ‘Bob’ Pilote, 68
Robert Wesley “Bob” Pilote passed peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 28, 2014, in Lewistown.
Bob was born on Sept. 8, 1945, one of six children, to Frank and Lois Pilote in Danvers, Mass.
After graduating from Danvers High, he ventured west to the University of Montana where he earned a bachelor's degree in education. After a few years of teaching in Missoula and assistant coaching the U of M golf team, Bob moved to Whitefish and opened Big Mountain Insurance. He spent the best years of his life devoted to his business, golf, fishing, hunting, friends and family.
Bob was a longtime member of the Whitefish Lake Golf Club and an honorary member of the Crystal Lakes Golf family. He was also involved in Rotary and was an active participant in the greater Whitefish community. Bob loved art and nature. He spent much of his free time looking for wildlife, taking pictures and collecting antlers. He carved countless antler chandeliers, belt buckles, lamps and cribbage boards. Bob was a man of big dreams and great ideas. While none of his inventions ever made him rich in money, he was, and will always be, rich in friends.
Bob was preceded in death by his father, Frank Pilote.
He is survived by his mother, Lois Pilote; his sisters, Marcia Colella and Marilyn Warfield; his brothers, David, Donald and William Pilote; his cousin, Richard Lewis of Whitefish; his daughters and their families, Amy, Bryan and Kyle Wright of Boise, Idaho, and Jill, Jeff and Samantha Thornton of Portland, Ore.; his stepchildren and their families, Kory, Liz, Kaylie, Landon and Ridge McGavin, and Becky, Jake, Chase and Gracie Gronley, and Chad Queen; and several nieces and nephews.
An open house in celebration of Bob's life will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 at Mountain View Manor, 100 East Fourth St., in Whitefish. A funeral service will be held at a church in Boston with Bob's immediate family.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Gary Norby Foundation in Bob's name at First Interstate Bank in Whitefish. This program supports golf programs for young people in the Whitefish Community.