John 'JT' Polotto, 57

John “JT” Polotto passed away in Tucson, Arizona, on March 23, 2016, from brain cancer, with his wife Dawn and brother Mike by his side.

JT was born on July 13, 1958, to Syble and Joseph Polotto in Great Falls. He moved to Whitefish in 1987, where he met his wife, Dawn. They then moved to Columbia Falls and later to Hungry Horse.

John worked for a number of different places, and owned and operated Grizzly Glass and JJ’s Auto Sales in Columbia Falls until 1993. He then worked with the construction crew at Plum Creek until his snowmobile accident in February 1995. He then went back to college, graduating with a degree in business from Flathead Valley Community College, ran for the House of Representatives, and volunteered with different organizations throughout the Flathead. He served on the Hungry Horse Water District board and Summit Independent Living Center in Kalispell.

John is survived by his wife, Dawn, of 26 years; his daughter, Angela, and her two children, Rue and Courtney, of Columbia Falls; and his son Brad and his wife, Genevieve, daughter Eryn, of Wahiawa, Hawaii. He is also survived by his siblings, Rita Gilchrist, Michael Polotto, Denise Johnson and Danny Polotto.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Scott.

John was an inspiration to many people and didn’t allow his spinal injury to get in the way of anything he wanted to achieve. He will return to Montana later this summer to be buried by the family in Neihart.

A celebration of life will take place in the Flathead in July.