Hildegarde Marie Davis, 91
Hildegarde Marie Davis, 91, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, at Heritage Place in Kalispell.
She was born on Nov. 16, 1923, in Beulah, N.D., to Thomas Kohler and Katherine Lantz. Her family worked on farms in Edgar, Bridger and then Stevensville. She graduated from Stevensville High School in 1943, and shortly after that went to work for Western Union Telegraph. She remained with that company until all the Montana offices closed in 1972. During that time she worked her way up to the office manager position shattering some of the glass ceiling that held women to lesser positions.
A favorite story she shared was of her going to the University of Montana press box to work the teletype machine transmitting games scores. One of the old boy network told her she was not welcome in the press box and she came right back saying that was fine if he knew how to run the teletype machine. Obviously, he didn’t and she continued on with her assignment showing she deserved a place in the room.
She married Tom Madison on Feb. 9, 1946. They had two sons, Tom Jr., who passed away in 1980, and Gary, who resides in Kalispell. Tom Jr. is survived by his wife Pam and son Brent, both of the Seattle area. Gary and his wife Wendy have two children, Michael in St. Cloud, Florida and Cassidy who is a junior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Her husband Tom passed away in 1974.
Hilda married George Davis in 1989, and they lived in Stevensville until he passed away in 2001. Shortly after, she moved to Kalispell to be closer to Gary and his family. She lived first at Glacier Manor and for the last two-plus years was a resident of Heritage Place. Our family would like to recognize the outstanding care provided by the staff at Heritage Place and to thank them for being a big part of her life.
Hilda lived a long and productive life, and will be sorely missed by her family.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Kalispell. Interment will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Missoula.
Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Hilda’s family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to view Hilda’s guest book, offer condolences and share memories.