Kalispell business leader Frank Thomas dies

Longtime Kalispell businessman Frank Thomas, who operated Thomas Printing for 57 years, died Monday at age 82.

Thomas was well-known in the printing business throughout the region. Through the years the Kalispell-based company had expanded to operate sales offices in Missoula, Bozeman and Bellingham, Washington, in addition to the Kalispell facilities.

“Frank was pretty much self-taught in the printing business and was very good at it,” said George Ostrom, longtime Kalispell journalist and radio personality. “He was a hell of a printer. He worked very hard at it.”

Thomas got his start as a “printer’s devil” in 1952 when he was just 15 years old. He melted lead, sorted paper and washed the presses. From there he obtained an apprenticeship, and within 10 years founded Thomas Printing in downtown Kalispell in 1962.

The business initially was located on the ground floor of the building on First Avenue East where KOFI radio currently operates. Thomas Printing eventually moved to an expanded printing facility and office on Sixth Avenue West.

“Frank was a real institution here in the Kalispell business community,” Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Joe Unterreiner said. “He developed a business that did work all over the country, with some of the largest printing capabilities in a multi-state area. He was a pillar of the business community.”

Unterreiner said Thomas worked with the Chamber on various projects through the years and had just completed a big map project for the organization. He also printed the Chamber’s annual vacation and relocation guide.

“He produced high-quality publications,” Unterreiner added.

Thomas’ work with the Chamber goes back to the 1960s when he was a young businessman getting started with his career. Les Tinseth of Tinseth & Associates, another longtime Kalispell businessman, recalled Thomas’ willingness to help out the Chamber more than a half century ago when Tinseth was on the Chamber board. Tinseth also recalled Thomas printing all the baseball programs when he was coaching Little League.

“He was a good worker for the community,” Tinseth said.

He remembers having coffee with Thomas regularly at Tut’s Bi-Rite, a Main Street drugstore and soda fountain where downtown businessmen routinely gathered.

For the past 27 years, Thomas had been running the business with his son Chad, who worked in the print shop as a youngster before earning a degree in print management and sciences.

The Flathead Business Journal’s November 2017 edition featured the Thomases when they acquired Billings-based Artcraft Printers, and planned to ramp up production across the state. That acquisition allowed Thomas Printing to extend further into the printing needs of the oil and gas industries.

Addressing the changing nature of the printing business, Frank pointed out how staying nimble and adapting to change was how to survive the sweeping changes in the printing business. He was quoted in the Journal article, saying, “We have to buy more print shops in order to be able to provide what the local customers in Montana want. We have to remain competitive ... We do all kinds of different printing because we have to service the customer.”

Zenna Scovel, owner of Zen Garden Graphic Design and a longtime graphic designer, worked for Thomas for about a year and a half in 2017 and 2018 before starting her own business.

“Frank was very knowledgeable about the printing business,” Scovel said. “When I moved to the valley I was really impressed with both the equipment and how well they understood printing, and what they could produce.

“It was a good working experience for me, to be able to work on high-end projects,” Scovel said. “He was connected, he knew a lot of people and stood behind his product ...You can’t get a better print job, honestly, in Montana.

Scovel said Thomas hired her because of a print job she did with him, based on the quality of her work.

“He had an excellent eye for design and print, and I don’t say that about too many people,” she added.

News Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.