Dawn Garfield-Blades

Dawn Rene Garfield-Blades, 47, passed away March 10, 2007, after an 11-year battle with breast cancer.

Dawn was born Feb. 1, 1960, at Ringling Brothers Hospital in Baraboo, Wis., which may account for her sense of humor. Her first five years were spent in Baraboo. She lived in Sparta, Wis., and Eau Claire, Wis. When she was six years old, her family moved to Springfield, Mo., and the next year to Rolla, Mo., where she lived until graduating from high school in 1978.

After high school, she moved to West Glacier, where her dad served with Glacier National Park. In 1980, Dawn worked as an extra in the movie "Heaven's Gate." After the movie was completed, she moved to California. She took classes in makeup and special effects, and worked for Berman Studios.

The next year, she returned to Montana and attended Montana State University, where she received a degree in recreational therapy/gerontology. She later earned a master's degree in occupational therapy at the University of Puget Sound and had been a pediatric occupational therapist in the Flathead Valley for more than 16 years. Her love was children with special needs.

In the 1990s, she led a diagnostic team to acquire the skills necessary to provide state-of-the-art autism evaluations, a service almost unheard of in rural communities such as the Flathead Valley. She was known across Montana for her expertise with special-needs children.

In her personal life, Dawn was the happiest when she had a carload of laughing kids heading either to a movie, a party, or to the baseball fields.

Dawn's favorite pastime was making her beautiful Hula Moon jewelry. She was also a rock hound and never met a rock she didn't love.

In 1987, Dawn and Kurt Blades were married. The two sons born of that marriage were the light and love of her life.

Dawn deeply loved and cared for so many children and friends. Her beautiful smile and grace touched all those who knew her. Her friends say she was an angel and they were blessed to know her.

She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents and her paternal grandparents.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Kurt Blades, of Whitefish; and her sons Kyler Gehrig and Logan Charles; her parents John "Jack" and Betty Ladd Garfield, of Kalispell; her brother and sister-in-law, Les and Lori Grilley, of Columbia Falls, and their children, Heidi, Jesse and Jeremy; her uncle, Bob Garfield, of Winter Haven, Fla., and his children, Lisa, Kris and Rob; her uncle, Alan Garfield, and aunt, Mary, of Bonita Springs, Fla.; and her aunt, Ardath, of Ashfield, Mass., and her children, Alan and David.

A memorial service for Dawn was held March 14, 2007, at the United Methodist Church in Whitefish. Dawn will be cremated and her ashes scattered in the ocean off Hawaii, a place she dearly loved.

In lieu of flowers and because of Dawn's dedication to children, a donation may be made for the nursery at North Valley Hospital or a college fund for Kyler and Logan. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 2082, Whitefish MT 59937.