Saturday, February 08, 2025
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Elden David Gamache, 95

| February 2, 2025 12:00 AM

Elden Gamache, 95, passed away peacefully on Dec. 26, 2024. He leaves behind a legacy of love, strength, and treasured memories that reflect a life richly lived through his sense of purpose, experiences and personal connections. 

Elden was born on Sept. 15, 1929, in Watford City, North Dakota, to Otto and Leona Gamache. He attended Watford City High School where he played football and basketball and competed in track and field. He was an eight-time letterman and president of his senior class. 

After high school, Elden spent a couple of years as a ranch hand in North Dakota and was particularly fond of his time spent on the Connolly Ranch. In January of 1951, Elden enlisted in the United States Air Force shortly after the Korean War had begun. He served four years and was honorably discharged as airman first class in 1954. During that same year, Elden married, and the couple had two children, Phillip and Kimberly.

In 1960 Elden moved to Kalispell, where he met and married his wife of 35 years, Eileen. They adopted their son Mitchell in September of 1961, shortly after Elden began his 30-year career with the Montana Department of Transportation. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping and also had a passion for gardening, woodworking, and leather tooling — the results of which he gladly shared with neighbors, friends, and family.

After retiring, Elden and Eileen moved to Grants Pass, Oregon. Eileen passed away in 1995. Elden remained in Oregon until the summer of 2016. Much of his time in Grants Pass was spent in a vineyard owned by his brother Larry. His passion for growing produce was taken to the next level as the two brothers collectively worked the five-acre vineyard of sauvignon blanc grapes, occasionally imbibing the fruits of their labor — quite literally!

In 2016, Elden embarked on his final journey and moved to southern California where he lived with his son, Mitch and his family in Carlsbad. Elden continued to work in the yard where he pruned bushes, weeded the garden and kept the yard shipshape. With summer weather year-round, barbecues and family gatherings were frequent and festive.

Elden is survived by his brothers, Larry Gamache and Gene Gamache; his son and spouse, Mitchell and Amanda Gamache; his grandchildren, Erika Gamache, Julia Gamache, Kimberly Paine, and Richard Gamache; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and beloved family members. 

Elden will be greatly missed. He was a man of character, and we will be forever grateful for the traits he instilled and the life lessons we learned from sharing our lives together. 

A celebration of life will take place at 1 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Conrad Memorial Cemetery.