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Gary Carter Tallman, 89

| September 26, 2021 12:00 AM

Montana native Gary Tallman, born April 13, 1932, passed away Sept. 11, 2021. He was strong and full of his quick wit and passion for life until his last days spent at home with his children, Kimi, Brett and Heather, and his wife Marilyn Tallman. He will be remembered fondly!

Gary and his younger brother Glay were raised in Whitefish by Gary’s adoptive parents, Paul and Syb Tallman. Gary loved hiking, skiing, hunting, fishing and inventing. He raced alpine in high school on white Army surplus skis in the late 1940s. He competed for the University of Washington and was a contender for the Olympics. Gary graduated from Fresno State College in animal husbandry.

Gary dedicated several decades of his life to assuring that all children in the Flathead could have access to this sport. He taught and mentored many skiers through the free Saturday ski program he helped to create with volunteers. He established the popular, annual Wild Game Dinner and Auction to support the Kalispell Ski Club.

Gary could recite others poems and wrote his own. He had a talent for preserving and polishing the natural features of wood, antlers and stone and other items he turned into fine art. He created dozens of bowls, boxes, flutes, drums and other keepsakes for family and friends. As a carpenter he preserved and integrated old materials of brick and beams into modern homes and buildings throughout the Flathead Valley, which set the stage for the look and feel that still draws people to Whitefish.

In his 20s Gary served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and became a Scuba diving instructor. He loved exploring the underwater world as much as the mountains. After a deployment in Okinawa, Gary and his wife Jeanne (Berthelote) Tallman settled in Whitefish and raised their four children.

Twenty-seven years ago, Gary married Marilyn (McCafferty) Tallman and moved to Tillinghast Creek in Monarch, Montana. Always an observer of nature, Gary captured its beauty in photos and film. As a young man he created ski movies for Big Mountain with Jim Rice and for the last 20 years and enriched more lives with his musical movies documenting the Tillinghast seasons.

Late in life, Gary discovered members of his family of origin and enjoyed getting to know his maternal uncle “Babe” Johnson and four half siblings Howard Backen, Mary Ann Hogan, Linda Lozano, Butch Backen and their spouses who all embraced him. Gary is survived by his wife Marilyn, his children’s mother’s Jeanne, three of his children Kimi, Brett and Heather, his other siblings, and loads of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His oldest daughter Shannon preceded him in death, as did his parents and older brother Bud Backen.

Gary’s ashes will be spread at Tillinghast Sunday, Oct. 3. More stories will be shared when we can gather again in the Flathead in the spring.

We love you, Pops!