Leonard Doyle, 97
Leonard C. “Red” Doyle passed away peacefully at his Whitefish home on Jan. 29, 2023, of natural causes. The seventh of 11 children born to James and Della (Manary) Doyle in Coburg, Montana on July 6, 1925, Red was proud of his Irish heritage. His early years were spent in Dodson where his family farmed.
At the age of 10, his family acquired and cleared for farming, land at the corner of Monegan and Dillon roads in Whitefish. Red attended schools in Whitefish, then enlisted in the Navy in 1943 during World War II.
He served the bulk of his service at the San Diego Naval Base Hospital, where he served as corpsman and X-ray specialist. He was assigned to a ship for a time, on which he circumnavigated the world, a cherished memory for him. After his honorable discharge in 1946, he returned to Whitefish where he met, courted and married Helen Baker in 1949. He was recalled into service during the Korean conflict and was stationed on Bainbridge Island at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Washington.
Red and Helen returned home to Whitefish after his honorable discharge in 1954. Together, they raised their three daughters – Judy, Charlene and Candy – in Whitefish, the town he loved. Red worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier for over 30 years and retired in 1984.
A proud and dedicated member of the Whitefish Volunteer Fire Department for twenty years, Red spent countless hours building up the department and responding to fire and ambulance calls.
Red and Helen encouraged and supported their daughters in all their activities. Dedicated parents, they stressed the importance of post-secondary education and sacrificed much to enable the girls to complete their college degrees.
Hunting and fishing trips and times spent with his buddies, Pop, Mike, Art, Glen, Lanny, Cloyd and his nephews John and Ralph were among Red’s treasured activities. He relished sharing his time and love of fishing and the outdoors with his grandchildren, who adored him. Flower and vegetable gardening were also a source of enjoyment and pride for Red. Every year he looked forward to making creamed peas, carrots and potatoes for his family with the fresh vegetables he grew in his garden, if the deer didn’t get to them first!
Red was a member of the greatest generation and lived a simple life with integrity, decency and honesty. Typical of his generation, he was always ready to help out friends, neighbors and family on construction projects, yardwork, or home repairs. He didn’t need to be asked, he simply showed up with a hammer, shovel, or his extra pair of hands. He was still clearing snow with his snow blower in neighborhood driveways and walkways at the age of 95, not because he had to but because it was the neighborly thing to do.
Those preceding Red in death include his parents; his wife; his sisters Stella Holyk, Theresa Gano, Betty Ahrens, Mary Mecchi, Frances Byrne, and Agnes Palmer; brothers Jim, David and Bill; sister-and brother-in-law Julia and Cloyd Lamberson, brother-and sister-in-law John and Helen Baker; and sister-in-law Clara Crawford.
Red is survived by one sister, Patsy Chamberlain; his daughters Judy Doyle, Charlene and husband Doug Cordier, Candy and husband Bob Tipton; grandchildren Travis (Alishia), Andy (Hallie), Amber and Brice (Steve); great-grandchildren Kaylee, Kynzlie, Keldyn, Dacre, Sawyer, Jhett, Aeneas and Caius; and several nieces and nephews.
In Red’s memory, the family suggests donations to your local food bank, any organization that helps children in need, or, following Red’s example, do a good deed for a neighbor.
Vigil and rosary will be held at Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Whitefish, followed by a reception in the St. Charles Fr. Bud Strom Center. Burial at Whitefish Cemetery following the reception.