Glenn Graham, 73

Glenn Graham, 73, passed away in December 2023 following a battle with cancer. 

He was born in 1950 to Jim and Ramona Graham. His roots in the Flathead were deep. His paternal grandparents were dairy farmers in the LaSalle area, and his maternal great-grandparents were pioneers and loggers in Columbia Falls. He spent most of his childhood fishing, camping, and working on his grandparents’ farm. He milked cows, became an Eagle Scout, and learned at a young age to value hard work.

He wrestled and played football in high school and graduated in 1968. He attended community college. Glenn had a booming voice, sparkling eyes and a loud, infectious laugh which always helped his children find him in a crowd.

Glenn was a union sheet metal worker. He worked several stints on the Alaska pipeline in Prudhoe Bay in the 1970s and 1980s. He had many stories to tell about his time in Alaska, including the time he awoke in the morning to find his hair frozen to the wall.

He married Joelene Smith in 1969. They had one son, Scott. They later divorced. In 1984, he married Shelley Olson. They had two daughters, Claire and Jamie. Glenn worked primarily in the Flathead for the rest of his career. He spent many hours skiing with his family, coaching baseball for his son, coaching softball for his daughters, and assisting them with their 4H pigs. Glenn enjoyed traveling, recreating and working with his family, bird hunting trips with his son, trips to Idaho to visit his granddaughters, and camping with family and friends. Camping always included a big pot of cowboy coffee, and his campfire cooking was inventive and delicious. He relished time spent picking huckleberries, gathering wild mushrooms (morels were a favorite), and bird watching.

He had an outgoing, gregarious personality. He never met a stranger that he couldn’t share a laugh with. Even language was not a barrier to friendship with Glenn; he met a German family while vacationing in Spain and was welcomed into their fold.

Glenn was a craftsman and a handyman. In addition to HVAC, he picked up skills from other tradesmen and could complete plumbing projects, basic electrical work, hang and finish drywall, siding, insulation, roofing, and painting. He could build and/or repair most anything from the ground up and didn’t put up with shoddy workmanship. He spent many hours improving his house, building additions, upgrading windows and doors, constructing new structures (including a large shop and a deluxe chicken coop for “Glenn’s Hens”) and landscaping the acreage surrounding his home. He could regularly be found operating his tractor and mowing multiple lawns both at home and at his mother’s. He built artistic metal bird feeders as well as sheet metal pig feeders and metal grain troughs for his steers. He continued to show a passion for learning new skills in his retirement. He renewed his interest in welding and built custom gates for the property and grill attachments for his fire pit.

Glenn was an avid Griz fan and would only miss a football game if he had a big project in the works. True to his Scottish heritage, he was frugal and loved a deal. His favorite question to pose to friends and family was “Guess how much this shirt cost me” (the answer was $5). You know the shirt if you’ve been asked.

He planted countless trees over the years, and diligently pruned and removed damaged trees. He would gleefully operate his chainsaw about the property and loved the cleanup bonfire almost as much as the destruction process. He was concerned about the preservation of the natural world and worked hard to leave things better than he found them. He was an active member of his community, volunteering for various causes and organizations.

He is survived by his wife, Shelley; son, Scott (wife, Meg); daughters, Claire and Jamie; granddaughter, Marlie (fiancé, Evan); granddaughter, Ashlyn (husband, Luke); sisters, Cathleen, and Colleen (husband, Clay); sister, Mary Beth; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and treasured friends. 

He was a beloved husband, father, and friend, and is deeply missed.

A celebration of life for Glenn will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, at the Red Lion Hotel, 20 North Main St., Kalispell. Donations in memory of Glenn may be made to the Flathead Audubon Society to assist them with the upkeep and management of the Owen Sowerwine property at https://flatheadaudubon.org/donate/.