Sharon 'Lanell' Windham, 65
Lanell Windham, 65, passed away on Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Kalispell, with her husband, Greg, by her side.
Born in 1956, to Lindell and Lenora Anderson in Lebanon, Missouri, Lanell was an Army brat, spending her childhood in Missouri, Kansas, Washington, Kentucky and Connecticut. She attended Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, for two years before transferring to Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, where she would meet a Grizzly Adams lookalike named Greg and fall in love.
She married Greg Windham on Aug. 22, 1980, and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where they would spend the first 13 years of their life together. She loved her time in Fort Worth and particularly their church family at Broadway Baptist Church, many of whom would be lifelong friends. Her time in Fort Worth also brought the births of her three sons, Ryan, 36, Matthew, 32, and Michael, 31.
In 1993, Lanell allowed Greg to follow his mountain dreams and move the family to Butte, Montana. In her six years in Butte, she worked as a paralegal while also opening a quilting store. She loved watching her boys play hockey and learn to ski.
In 1999, they moved to Kalispell. Her 23 years in Kalispell are filled with memories of watching her boys grow up, her so many great friends, boat days on Flathead Lake, countless ski days with Greg and her girls ski trips. Lanell loved to quilt, run, ski and play, but her true calling came in 2015 with the birth of her first grandchild. Lanell was born to be “Gram.” And the last seven years have been spent with many trips back and forth to Texas to teach her three grandbabies, Henry, 7, Will, 5, and Molly Lanell, 2, how to live at 100 miles per hour.
Her last winter was a whirlwind, which was par for the course for Lanell. While fighting cancer with all her heart and strength, she still found the energy to watch her middle son, Matt, get married to Sam at Whitefish Lake, ski with her grandkids and travel with Greg to Mexico, Florida and Texas.
Lanell is survived by her husband of 42 years, Greg; her sons Ryan (Trisha), Matt (Samantha) and Michael; three grandchildren, Henry, Will and Molly; her parents, Lindell and Lenora; brothers, John (Gina) and Tim (Inga); and her beloved nieces and nephews.
Memorial services are being planned by the family.
In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to “Save a Sister” via the Logan Health Foundation to support breast cancer screening and education for Flathead Valley women.