Obituary: John D. Morrow
Lakeside resident John Dewayne Morrow died Thursday, Oct. 21.
John was enjoying one of his favorite pastimes with a couple of his best friends when he suffered a heart attack after just having hit two of the greatest shots in all his years of playing golf.
John was born May 16, 1955, in Kalispell, to Harold and Louise Vaughan Morrow. He had to walk all the way across the alley to attend Peterson Elementary and graduated from Flathead High School in 1973. He attended Flathead Valley Community College and the University of Montana. In 1976 he married his high school sweetheart, Randee Redpath, at her parents’ Flathead Lake home.
In 1979, their daughter, Maren was born. He spent many years being her basketball coach and her cheering section. Maren’s arrival could only be topped by the birth of his two grandchildren.
John was active in the Somers Volunteer Fire Department for more than 20 years. He was a charter member of the Lakeside Quick Response Unit, responding to an average of 200 calls a year for 27 years. He was the epitome of quick response as he was usually the first one on the scene (because he drove too fast). He was always there to assist anyone in trouble.
He touched so many lives of this Valley whether it was through the fire department, the QRU, or running to the store after-hours for customer plumbing emergencies.
He enjoyed hunting, bowling, golfing, fishing and skiing. He was a true-blue Dolphins fan, win or lose. But his biggest passion was being Sadee and Jonathan’s Papa.
During his high school years, he assisted his father Harold, in running the West Shore mail route for the post office.
He started working at Sliters’ Lumber Company in Somers in 1977, following on the shirttails of his father-in-law, Howard Redpath. In 1998, he was named as manager at the Lakeside Sliters’ ACE Hardware, where he was currently employed at the time of his death. He gave many loyal years devoted to the Sliters. He and Randee enjoyed attending ACE shows that allowed them to visit many different cities.
John was preceded in death by his father, Harold Wayne Morrow; his sister-in-law, Connie Stein; his brother-in-law, Cecil Main; and his mother- and father-in-law, Howard and Peggy Redpath.
He is survived by his mother, Louise Morrow of Kalispell; his wife and best friend, Randee of Lakeside; their daughter, Maren, and her husband, Aaron King, and their children, Sadee and Jonathan of Ferndale; his sister, Cheryl Main of Newman Lake, Wash.; sister, Jeanie and Dan Stetler of Kalispell, and children, Michele Beck of Connecticut and Sarah and Dan Fjheld and their son Gabe; and his brother, Bob and Kelly Morrow and their daughters, Jemma and Julia, all of Kalispell.
He is also survived by brother-in-law, Dennis Redpath, and his family, Monica Bradford and Dennis Jr.; brother-in-law, Frank and Sherry Stein; and sister-in-law, Janet and Dan Bourne, and their family, Shannie Heston and Corrie Bourne, as well as numerous other aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, and too many other friends to mention.
He will be loved, respected and greatly missed by all those he has left behind.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, in the Somers Middle School gym. Dennis Reese, pastor of the Lakeside Community Chapel, will be officiating with a reception immediately following the service.
To send condolences to the family, visit www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.