Humility, dedication of officer touched many lives
<p>The Flathead Hotshots take part in the funeral procession for Brad Treat, 38, a law-enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service who died outside Glacier National Park on June 29, as a result of an encounter with a bear. Services were held at 10 a.m. at Legends Stadium in Kalispell.</p><p>(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Members of the first responder community were out in force on Thursday morning as they lined up at Glacier High School and then processed down Old Reserve Drive for the funeral procession of Brad Treat, 38, a law-enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service who died outside Glacier National Park on June 29, as a result of an encounter with a bear.</p>
<p>The presentation of the colors at the funeral of Brad Treat on Thursday morning, July 7, at Legends Stadium in Kalispell.</p><p>(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>First responders and law enforcement officers from around the region came together for the funeral of Brad Treat, 38, a law-enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service who died outside Glacier National Park on June 29, as a result of an encounter with a bear. Services were held at 10 a.m. at Legends Stadium in Kalispell.</p><p>(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry speaks at the funeral of Brad Treat on Thursday, July 7, at Legends Stadium in Kalsipell.</p><p>(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
An estimated 2,000 friends, family members and colleagues — representing more than a dozen law enforcement, emergency response and resource agencies — attended the celebration of life ceremony Thursday morning for Brad Treat, remembering the Flathead National Forest law enforcement officer as humble, dedicated and compassionate.
Treat died June 29 when he encountered a bear while mountain-biking south of West Glacier. He was 38.
A week after the news of the tragic mauling attracted nationwide media attention, the elaborate ceremony at Legends Stadium gave those close to Treat an opportunity to highlight the countless lives that Treat, a former track star, touched in his personal and professional life.
The ceremony followed a solemn procession through Kalispell of hundreds of law-enforcement vehicles.
Kyle Johnson, a Glacier National Park ranger and uncle of Treat’s widow, Somer, spoke about Brad as a friend, family member and co-worker who excelled both as an athlete and law officer, yet never sought the spotlight.
“Brad would have hated this day — the attention, the fuss and all the ceremony,” Johnson said.
Treat’s humility was a theme that echoed through the five speeches.
Forest Service Patrol Capt. Bob Field recalled that, despite knowing Treat for years, he only became aware of his legendary career as a standout track and cross-country runner for Flathead High School and the University of Montana after bumping into his former coach.
“He didn’t do his job for recognition. He didn’t particularly like the awards,” Field said. “He saw it as doing his job.”
Paul Jorgenson, Treat’s track coach at Flathead, recalled the athlete’s response to winning the Missoula invitational: turning to the other competitors and congratulating them on their performance.
“It was truly inspiring for a kid to come up with that all by himself,” Jorgenson said, adding that the practice has become a tradition in the years since.
But Treat did take pride in making a difference in people’s lives, Field noted, telling several stories illustrating his consistent selflessness while on duty.
“We had this one gentleman that was down on his luck. We went to go visit to see how he was doing — it was cold, it was wet, his tent was waterlogged and his fire wasn’t much of a fire,” Field said. “Brad took the time to go look for firewood for this guy. That was the type of guy he was.”
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry also offered praise for Treat’s abilities as a law enforcement officer.
“The greater law enforcement community is better because of you,” Curry said. “You were our co-worker, you were our problem-solver, to some of us here you were a mentor, but most importantly, to all of us you were a friend.”
Tracy Perry, the acting director of Law Enforcement and Investigations at the Forest Service’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, recalled taking a ride-along with Treat when he visited the Flathead National Forest in 2012.
“He was a true professional. He had outstanding field skills and he was a great communicator,” Perry said. “We spent a good part of the day talking about law enforcement, but we also talked about life.”
Perry added: “Most importantly, I learned he truly loved his family and his wife, Somer.”
Despite Treat’s serious line of work, he was also lauded for his easy sense of humor, dry wit and friendly competitiveness. Johnson recalled his nephew as the self-proclaimed “Pumpkin Master,” who each Halloween would tackle the most ambitious and complicated jack-o’-lantern patterns when the family carved pumpkins.
“Brad struggled with his artistic ability,” he joked, adding that Treat was always quick to poke fun at himself.
The ceremony ended with a 21-gun salute and the voice of a dispatch operator crackling over the stadium loudspeakers, issuing the last call for FS-44 — Treat’s now-retired call sign.
After a moment of silence, the voice ended with a familiar epitaph for fallen law enforcement officers: “Rest in peace, my friend. We have the watch from here.”
Treat’s memory will live on at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station, where the forest road around the district office will be renamed the Brad Treat Memorial Road.
“It will be signed as a memorial so we will never forget, so others will realize the person he was,” Johnson said. “Because there will never be another one like him.”
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.