James Kane
James Thomas Kane, 79, a longtime Whitefish area resident, passed away of natural causes at the North Valley Hospital on June 23, 2006.
He was born Sept. 29, 1926, in New York City, the son of James and Catherine Kane. James was raised in the New York area and entered the Navy during World War II and served as a fire controlman first class until his honorable discharge in 1946.
As a child, he started making deliveries for a company in the fur trade. He also shined shoes and delivered the Saturday Evening Post.
The owner of the Fur Trading Co., Jack Abrams, taught James the art of sewing furs together into garments. In 1961, he purchased Soundview Shell Gas Station on one of the busiest streets in the Bronx.
In 1972, he packed up the family and moved to Bozeman and then to Whitefish, where he purchased Frenchy's Chinese Gardens in May 1973. In 1974, that landmark burnt to the ground. In 1975, he built the Shangri-La Supper Club.
In 1988, a second business Par 3 on 93, was started and opened in 1989. In 1992, the businesses were sold, and he concentrated on the golf course. He retired in 2005.
He enjoyed golf, watching athletic events, and as a young man was given a tryout with the New York Knicks. He enjoyed the Knights of Columbus and visiting with the golfers in the pro shop.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Kathleen Holland and his brother Donald Kane.
He is survived by his wife Eileen (after 56 years of marriage) at the family home in Whitefish; his daughter Deirdre Kane, of Kalispell; his sons James T. Kane, Jr., of Southbridge, Mass., and Brian A. Kane, of Whitefish; brother William G. Kane, of New Jersey; and grandchildren Maureen, Sean and Thomas, of Southbridge, James, serving in the Marine Corps in South Carolina, and Austin and Kayden, in Southbridge.
A Mass of the Christian Burial took place June 28, 2006, at the St. Charles Catholic Church in Whitefish, with Rev. Pat Patton as celebrant. Burial will follow at a later time at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, N.Y.