Long-time Big Mountain employee, Sandi Unger, dies at 68

It's quite possible Sandi Unger knew everything there was to know about Big Mountain. She had the resort's detailed history memorized, she knew which detergent worked best on chairlift grease — she even knew who was buying what with which company credit card.

For nearly half a century, Unger was the go-to employee at the resort. Working in the kitchen early on, then as Ed Schenck's right-hand woman until his retirement, Unger learned the ins and outs of nearly every functioning part of the business.

She was "always on top of the pile," her brother, Martin Hale, described recently with a smile.

This past Friday, Unger died of Lou Gehrig's disease at Home Options hospice house in Kalispell. She leaves behind a lasting legacy as an unforgettable character on the mountain and as a "great friend" among those who knew her in Whitefish. She was 68 years old.

Susan Abell met Unger in the seventh grade and together they grew up and raised their children here.

"I was the strange kid on the block," Abell said about first meeting Unger. "Sandi befriended me then and we were friends ever since."

"She was just a really good friend who was always there. She could laugh at anything. But, her biggest asset was that she was very conscientious."

After graduating from Whitefish High School in 1959, Unger left Whitefish to attend Kinman Business College in Spokane, Wash. She returned in 1962 and took a job at Big Mountain in the Rocky Mountain Chalet, now known as Hellroaring Saloon.

"I started at the switchboard, but we did everything, waiting tables, whatever was needed," Unger told the Pilot for an article in 2007.

She was named to the Winter Carnival royalty as a princess with prince Randy Schmeckle in 1963 — the fourth year of the Carnival. Ted Lund was King Ullr that year and Ann Betzman was the queen.

In 1965, she met and married Thomas Unger, who worked ski patrol on the mountain. Ed Schenck married the couple in the chalet prior to their formal ceremony later in the spring. They celebrated their 45th anniversary this past May.

Mike Jenson, who worked with Unger at Big Mountain as a young man and again when he was on the resort's board starting in 1995, said Unger was probably the "most helpful person on the mountain."

"If you needed answers, it was more than likely going to be Sandi that was going to answer it," Jenson said.

Unger's long-time co-worker Chester Powell reiterated that thought.

Powell, operations manager at the resort, first worked with Unger during the 1976-77-ski season.

"She ran the place," Powell said, quite bluntly. "Her work was mostly behind the scenes though, and she wasn't given credit, but she really was in charge of everything."

Unger was extremely organized and detailed, Powell noted, and she kept track of everything. She kept a running timeline of the resort that Powell still looks at today. The timeline started in 1947 and ran through 1997, and includes details that others likely would have overlooked, including the construction of the Old West Adventures barn near Chair 4, when Norm Kurtz was hired and the dates of certain ski races.

"She didn't miss much," Powell said.

As an employee under Unger, Powell noted that, "If you messed up, things could get a little scary."

"She had no qualms about saying what she thought," Powell said "That's just how it was. I was fortunate to be on her good side — most of the time. She was kind of partly my mother, keeping me in line."

Toward the end of her career, Unger disapproved of some of the business moves being made on Big Mountain, Powell said, including the name change to Whitefish Mountain Resort.

"Some of those changes were real hard for her," Powell said. "Especially in the last decade."

No one had more institutional knowledge about the ski resort than Unger, Powell said, and that will likely be her lasting legacy.

"What set her apart was her tremendous memory and her love for the mountain," he said. "The mountain was like her family."

Munch Woods worked with Unger from 1976-89 and will always remember her as "the best boss' she's ever had.

"She wasn't afraid to say something if it needed to be fixed or changed," Woods said. "She didn't win all of the battles, but over her career, she made a huge difference in how the mountain operated. She basically ran that place."

Unger eventually worked her way up to a controller position, which she retired from in 2007 after a 45-year career. She was the mountain's most senior employee at the time.

"She just loved the mountain," Susan Abell said. "She worked there all her life."

In 1992, Unger was elected to the board of directors at the Whitefish Credit Union. She occupied that position until 2000.

"She was a great member of the board and brought a lot of real personal experiences to the decision-making process," Charlie Abell, past president of the Credit Union, said.

"She was a good lady, and was very bright. Her understanding of people's relationships with others was very intuitive."

A memorial service for Unger is scheduled for Saturday Aug. 28 from 2-5 p.m. at the Moose Lodge in Whitefish. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to the e-mail kelsk2@hotmail.com.