Edward H. Folkwein, 67

Edward H. Folkwein, of Columbia Falls, died Monday, July 27, 2015, in a bicycle accident in the state of Washington.

Ed was born on Nov. 25, 1947, in Youngstown, Ohio, to Evelyn (Seach) and Edward L. Folkwein. He graduated from Struthers High School in 1966 and earned a degree in radio-television broadcasting from the University of Montana in Missoula in 1970.

He married Shirley (Rogers) Folkwein on June 13, 1970, and they moved to Lubbock, Texas, after his commissioning in the U.S. Air Force. He received an honorable discharge from the Air Force in the spring of 1973. The couple then moved to the Flathead Valley where he worked in radio and television. It was here that their daughter, Laura, was born.

Ed worked as a district executive with the Boy Scouts of America and then enrolled in seminary at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, in 1980. He earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1983 and was ordained as a pastor in the Yellowstone Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1985. The family served churches in Troy, Valier, Harlowton/Judith Gap, Whitehall, Hardin/Ashland and Sheridan/Twin Bridges. He retired formally from the ministry in 2011 and also served as manager at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Billings.

As a pastor, Ed’s ministry reached beyond church doors in service to the rural people and communities where he served. During the same time, Ed began bicycle touring. He toured well over 8,200 miles, and he died doing something he loved.

Ed and Shirley moved to the family farm in Columbia Falls in 2010. They built a home and grew a market garden to sell produce through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and the Columbia Falls and West Glacier farmers markets.

Ed loved to share a meal or a cup of strong coffee with family and friends, tell jokes, and get outside doing something active. He was an amateur photographer and enjoyed hiking, as well as bird and wildlife watching and singing with the Flathead Valleyaires Barbershop Chorus. Ed was a friend to anyone who crossed his path.

Ed is survived by his wife, Shirley (Rogers) Folkwein; daughter Laura Folkwein and daughter-in-law Laurie Walker; two brothers, Ken and Deborah Folkwein of Lowellville, Ohio, and Ron and Linda Folkwein of Cornville, Arizona; and Shirley’s sisters and brothers-in-law, Ruth (Rogers), Bob Clawson and Luci (Rogers), and Dave Yeats of Columbia Falls; as well as nieces and nephews living throughout the U.S.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Evelyn and Edward L. Folkwein; and his mother and father-in-law, Lulu (Loeffler) and J. Ted Rogers.

Burial will take place at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls (U.S. 2 and Meadow Lake Boulevard). A celebration of life will follow at 11 a.m. at the Columbia Falls United Methodist Church (117 Second St. W). A luncheon will follow at the church.

The family suggests gifts in memorial to Flathead Lake United Methodist Camp, Gateway to Glacier Trail, Montana Human Rights Network, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Flathead, or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements are entrusted to Columbia Mortuary.