Joseph Eugene Gulledge, 44
Joseph Eugene Gulledge, 44, passed away peacefully on Aug. 31, 2019, in Kalispell, after a long battle with cancer.
Joe was born to Jerry Gulledge and Brenda (Sooter) Turnbull on July 13, 1975, in McCall, Idaho. When Joe was 2, the family moved to Lakeside where Joe spent most of his youth. He often said he had the best childhood in Lakeside, playing with friends, fishing, riding bikes, sledding and jumping into Flathead Lake in April. As a boy, Joe was sweet and kind, always thinking of others. He maintained that quality throughout his life. Even though he was often the biggest kid among his classmates, he was always gentle and good to the core. Joe lived life to its fullest during many of his adult years. He spent time following The Grateful Dead, Phish, and other musicians. He hitchhiked all over the country at a young age. He spent time in Northern California picking mushrooms. He was known to hang out with the Rainbow Family and was always a peaceful person at heart. When he finally landed back in Montana for good, he never lost that sense of positivity, peace, and the unique gift of paying something forward. He was creative and athletic, shy and quiet at times, and had a quick wit, a smile and laugh that was full of light. He loved skateboarding, fishing, gold panning, walking his dog, and Monty Python movies. Anyone who knew him knew his love of wacky T-shirts.
He worked as a millwright, a mason, and a butcher through his life, until the cancer made it so he could no longer work. Positive until the very end, he wanted absolutely no negative vibes in the universe regarding his prognosis. He fought a long and tough battle and never complained, always saying, “I’m just grateful to be here.”
Joe is survived by his father, Jerry Gulledge; his mother, Brenda Turnbull; his sister, Traci Street; brother-in-law, Jon Street; nephews, Seth, Roby and Colson; sister, Janice Fielden and niece Lena, his sisters Amy Lettebrown, Nichole Lee and his children Jesper and Tahya. He was loved by his numerous aunts and cousins; aunts Janet Althaus and Judy Fleischman, cousins Rich, Rob, Ryan and Randy Althaus, cousins Sonia and Sam Fleischman, cousins Dawn Woerz and David Lee, aunt, Becky Gulledge, and cousins Jeremy and Jesse Gulledge.
He was preceded in death by his grandma Maxine Ritter, Aunt Diane Lee, grandfather Charles Sooter, grandmother Kat Gulledge, grandfather Jack Gulledge and uncle Jimmy Gulledge.
A celebration of life will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Riverstone Family Lodge in Eureka.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Joe’s name to Wings Regional Cancer Support, P.O. Box 7852, Kalispell, MT 59904.