Louis M. Kis, 95
Louis M. Kis (known as Lou, Louie, Grizzly Lou and at least a few names not fit to print) peacefully passed away while sleeping in the early morning hours on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, at the Veterans Home in Columbia Falls. For 95 years Lou was a force of nature. Through sheer determination, character, selflessness and hard work he created a great, colorful and impactful life and enriched the lives of his family, friends and community.
Lou was born near Gold Creek, Montana, and went to school in Gold Creek, Moise, and Big Arm before graduating from Polson High School in 1944. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Air Corps as a navigator and gunner on a Mariner PBM-5 submarine hunter, patrolling the east coast and Gulf of Mexico in World War II. After the war, Lou served as a Naval shore patrolman in Seattle where he met his first wife, Alma Sullivan. They were married and moved to Polson, then to Butte where she died of heart failure. Their daughter, Sharron Anderson, lived in Spokane where she recently died. Lou met his second wife in Butte. They soon moved to Kalispell and built a house on Foys Lake.
Lou said the third time was a charm when he married Eileen Stuebe Schulze in 1979. Together they raised her three children. Despite occasionally destroying one of her houseplants by playing football in the house with the kids, Lou was an excellent father and mentor. Even he had to grudgingly admit — the kids turned out alright and that he was proud of them.
Lou loved the Flathead Valley where he lived almost all of his life and to which he dedicated his life through 34 years of public service as the captain of the Montana Fish & Game Region 1. Lou’s service accidentally became big news appearing in the NY Times, Outdoor Life, and even the tabloids when he ended up wrestling a grizzly bear when a trap and release went FUBAR and he had to kill the bear with the last shot in his .357 after it chewed on his leg. Lou received the 2018 Outstanding Service Award from the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association.
Lou loved the outdoors and used every excuse to be in the woods patrolling, hiking, hunting, fishing and, much to his children’s dismay, cutting wood for them to split and stack. He was also an acclaimed photographer who sold countless wildlife and scenic prints, annual calendars and postcards. His other big love was pie – preferably huckleberry. More than anything he just wanted to be out fishing with Eileen on a secluded lake in float tubes.
Lou’s parents, Ernest Kis and Mabel Kis Montgomery, and siblings Francis, Eleanor, Martin, Alvin, Willie and Betty preceded him in death.
He lived at the Montana Veterans Home for the last five years where he received wonderful and loving care.
He is survived by his wife, Eileen, daughters Monika and her partner Gary, and Angela, and son Michael and wife Amy. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Ethan, Sean, and Emily Schulze, and Taylor Richard, and Roan Judice. He is also survived by sisters Hazel Lenoir and Julie Montgomery.
Family and friends will honor Lou with a graveside service at Glacier Memorial Gardens at 10 a.m. Friday, March 4, with military honors, followed by a church service at Trinity Lutheran Church at 11 a.m. with a luncheon. Donations can be made to the Montana Veterans Home at P.O. Box 250, Columbia Falls, MT 59912 in memory of Louis M. Kis.