Nicholas 'Nick' Poncelet, 84
Nicholas "Nick" Poncelet was born Sept. 11, 1940, to Nicholas and Evelyn (Johnson) Poncelet in Great Falls, a second generation American with ties back to Luxembourg, Sweden, and Germany. Born two months early and just big enough to fit in a shoebox, Nick proved throughout his life that he had a fighting spirit. He developed a love for electronics and engines at an early age, building motor powered go-carts and radios before the age of thirteen, and obtaining his HAM radio license, W7HGM. He was known for his high school antics of outrunning the Great Falls police with his souped-up model T, much to his mother’s dismay. During his twenties, his passion for motors led him to snowmobile racing where he applied his knowledge of engines to build some of the fastest snowmobiles around, often creating rooster tails shooting 20 to 30 feet in the air. That is when Nick met his match, Loretta Harker, who fell in love with his ingenuity and resourcefulness. Nick and Loret would go on to raise three children, Morris, Dennis, and Nicole on a small family farm outside of Whitefish.
Over the course of his career, Nick worked for Motorola, Intermountain Microwave, and Rocky Mountain Avionics. He loved designing and inventing things from dehydrators to electronic safety warning systems for float planes. As an avid defender of his constitutional rights, Nick took a taxpayer bill of rights case all the way to the Supreme Court and won. During the latter half of his life, he poured his passion into antique engines and was one of the original founders of Northwest Montana Antique Power Association (NMAPA). He and Steve Skyberg would go into an untold number of abandoned mines and retrieve giant, old, single-piston engines, piece by piece, and restore them to mint condition. Nick and Loret would volunteer for many antique engine shows from Montana to Arizona.
In his later years, Nick worked with friends to build a new shop-house outside Columbia Falls. He enjoyed delivering meals and checking in on seniors as part of Meals on Wheels. Nick had amazing stories to tell about his adventures, and he has left behind a vast emptiness where he once stood tall.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Dennis Poncelet.
He is survived by his wife, Loretta (Harker) Poncelet; two children, Morris Poncelet and Nicole Poncelet-Johnson; two brothers, Jeffrey (Pam) Poncelet and Greg (Melinda) Poncelet; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, and nieces.
W7HGM signing off.
To send online condolences please visit www.columbiamortuary.com. Columbia Mortuary is caring for the family.