G. George Ostrom, 96

"Through fate and something within me, I am blessed to have done so very many interesting things." All quotes attributed to G. George Ostrom. 

G. (Glen) George Ostrom passed away January 1, 2025. He came into the world on July 24, 1928, in Missoula, Montana. George was the first of four children born to Logan and Hazel Ostrom. The family homesteaded at the Flathead Mining camp west of Kalispell in the heart of the Great Depression, and George learned to hunt early on to help feed his family and neighbors. He fondly remembered his fine education in a one-room schoolhouse, where he met lifelong friends. The future journalist started his first newspaper — the Hog Heaven Gazette — in sixth grade. "I'm not a guy for whom modesty is a burden. You've got to have confidence so you're not daunted by things." 

Fibbing about his age, George skipped out of Flathead County High school at age 17 to train as a paratrooper in World War II. He helped guide Allied forces across Europe with a complex communication system he helped design during the Occupation of Germany. "Hitler killed himself, because he knew I was coming for him."

Although he never finished high school, education was a passion for George. He helped shape both the University of Montana and the Flathead Valley Community College. After serving more than 20 years as a member of UM's President Citizen Council, he received the university's Distinguished Alumni Award. Ostrom served on the advisory board for FVCC and helped organize the newfound school before later serving on the board of trustees and receiving the distinguished Mentor Award. "A community college helps young men and women improve their lives. There were naysayers in the beginning, but we told them to either support us on this or get the hell out of our way."

George made hundreds of jumps (and broke almost as many bones) skydiving out of airplanes and putting out fires as a squad leader for America's first generation of smokejumpers. He performed the lone jump at the dedication of the center in Missoula in 1954 in front of 40,000 people, including President Eisenhower. "Why anyone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I don't know. Guess I had an abundance of adrenaline as a young man".

It was while George was recovering from a particularly rough jump, that he met the love of his life, Iris Ann Wilhelm. He knew at first sight this was the woman he was going to marry, and they enjoyed 65 years together. George and Iris raised their four children with love and support, great humor and wisdom, along with a zest for life to match their own. The couple traveled the world and relished the company of lifelong friends. Iris preceded George in death by less than a year. "Marrying Iris was the smartest thing I ever did. And my children are my greatest accomplishment." 

After helping the upstart KOFI radio station develop into a successful news source, George bought the Kalispell Weekly News in 1974 and built it into the largest weekly in Montana with a circulation of over 12,000 people. He later purchased KOFI with partners and began delivering his legendary brand of news reports and commentary. "Let's see what the dingbats, wingnuts and evildoers were up to last night." "Drive carefully, wear your seatbelt, and be kind to one another."

For his civic work, including establishing the United Way, Crimestoppers, A.L.E.R.T. and other community organizations, George received the highest local honors, including Kalispell's Great Chief Award. But George's influence and reputation stretched beyond the Flathead Valley, demanding attention from Congressional lawmakers. Subsequently, he was entered into the Congressional Record in Washington, D.C., for his years of service to the State of Montana. "Hell is reserved for those who, in a time of moral crisis, refuse to take a stand."

In addition to authoring four books (the first three were Glacier's Secrets I and II and Wondrous Wildlife), George has written for newspapers, dozens of magazines (even being sent to Korea as part of a contingent to report on the Olympics), but predominantly, he wrote for the Hungry Horse News for over a half a century. His column began while George was in Washington, D.C., working on the Wilderness Bill for the Kennedy Administration, under US Senator Lee Metcalf. "I believe I could have had a successful political career, but I didn't want to raise my family in ‘Foggy Bottom’. Iris and I couldn't get back to Montana fast enough."

George has won numerous state, regional and national awards for his radio work, writing (chosen for best column repeatedly by the National Newspaper Association) and photography. George was awarded a National Telly Award for his DVD, Seasons of Glacier. He concluded his illustrious radio career (in his 90s) at KGEZ and was inducted into the prestigious Montana Broadcaster Hall of Fame. "I don't believe in retirement or the relevancy of age. I don't want to rest. I want to keep on going." 

George's most famous hobby was probably hiking and climbing (hundreds of peaks in Glacier National Park) with the famed Over the Hill Gang. He is credited with naming the Dragon's Tail. George was a Renaissance man. He was a pilot, a teacher, a historian, an actor, an artist (and serious art collector), a musician, poet, horseman, outdoorsman, photographer, entertainer, emcee, businessman and mentor. "No one ever told me I couldn't do something".  

George was preceded in death by his parents, Logan and Hazel Ostrom, brothers Ritchey and Alva, sister Dora Lee "Dode" Wolf, his wife Iris, and sons Shannon and Clark. He is survived by daughters Heidi (Scott) Duncan and Wendy (Shawn) Ostrom-Price. George lives on in the hearts of his three grandchildren, Tana and Parker Duncan and Wyatt Price. He was also blessed with two great-grandsons, Zenovio “Novi” Negron and Aridian “Ridi” Price. George leaves behind many dear nieces and nephews, and his lifelong best friend, Ivan O'Neil, who regaled him with stories of their decades of adventures for hours before he passed. "When I was a teenager staying in a fire lookout one summer, I would get Ivan on a phone line when I could and he'd listen to me practice my trumpet. Now that's friendship. "

No public celebration of life is planned, but we want to thank you for celebrating George every step of the way while he was here to enjoy it. You celebrated with him for over 60 years on the radio, through his writing, at his slide shows, and speaking engagements (and along the trails). You celebrated his 70th birthday with an epic party and the Mayor of Kalispell declaring July 24, 1998, as “George Ostrom Day” with a banner across main street; you celebrated with George in his 80s during an exhibit of his extraordinary life at the Northwest Montana History Museum, and you celebrated his 90th birthday as he held a book signing party after publishing his first children's book, "Yum Yoogle Snook Wild Beastie Book." "Utterly flutterly, bright thrushes sing by. Oh golly, they're bluebirds, the flowers that fly."

If you really want to celebrate him in style, we suggest you put on Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, raise a glass (scotch was a favorite) and make a toast to G. George: a man who truly did live life his way and did it with insatiable curiosity and grand appreciation for the wonders of the world and his fellow humankind. 

Tributes can be made at buffalohillfh.com and donations are welcome for the George Ostrom Journalism Scholarship at the University of Montana by visiting umt.academicworks.com.