Averill matriarch leaves lasting legacy

The Flathead Lake Lodge has been a fixture on the east shore landscape for more than 60 years, and its longevity is due in no small part to the behind-the-scenes presence of a very special lady.

Virginia Averill — the second wife of Flathead Lake Lodge founder Les Averill — passed away Oct. 15, just over five years after her late husband.

“Ginny” was the product of an old-fashioned Montana upbringing on a farm in Stanford, Mont. That, said stepson Doug Averill, helped shape Ginny’s warm, welcoming personality.

“Everybody loved Ginny,” Doug said. “She was always the pleasant, smiley, friendly one. She and Dad made a really cute couple. People really gravitated to them.”

According to Doug, Ginny played a crucial role at the lodge after she married Les and moved to Bigfork in the early 1970s.

“Ginny was very, very helpful with acting as the hostess and socializing with the guests,” Doug said. “It was just a pleasure to work with her.”

During the time that she and Les were dating, Ginny — who, like Les, had four sons — lived in Missoula, where she worked at a flower shop.

“When Dad started dating Ginny, a few of us (brothers) were in college at the University of Montana, and we were always accusing him of selling off his cows one at a time at the Missoula livestock auctions,” Doug said. “But really, he was just doing it so he could come and see Ginny.”

Les wasn’t the only Averill who spent a lot of time with Ginny in Missoula.

“Ginny was a fabulous cook and baker,” said Doug, who lost his mother, Dolores, when he was in high school. “She had a big house in Pattee Canyon, and it became like a second home for all of the boys.”

Once Les and Ginny married, Doug said that for the most part, all of the new siblings got along with each other. Some even pitched in at the ranch and around the lodge.

“We all interacted well and leaned in together and made it work as a group,” Doug said. “A lot of the work around here is hard, kind of manly work, so it worked well to have so many boys around.”

Doug chuckled as he recalled the way that Ginny delicately pried into the boys’ romantic lives during their college years.

“We were all around that age, and she — in her own cute, little way — tried to keep track of us all,” he said.

Doug and his siblings took over the lodge after Les retired in the ’70s, but both Les and Ginny remained involved with the historic Bigfork establishment for the rest of their lives.

“I was busy raising my family, and (my wife) Maureen and I were pretty young, so Dad and Ginny served as a connection for some of the older people staying here,” Doug said.

When she wasn’t baking treats for her grandchildren or working in her flower garden, Ginny was busy accompanying Les on several motorhome excursions all over the country — including a trip through the Alaskan wilderness.

“They definitely had a sense of adventure, even later in life,” Doug said.

The couple also spent their retirement visiting old friends and making new ones, which, according to Doug, wasn’t tough for them to do.

“That’s one of the neatest things about them — they could socialize with the rich and famous, but they were just as content sitting and visiting with the local hermit,” Doug said. “It didn’t matter what your background was. If you were just a person, they appreciated it.”

Ginny hosted parties and family gatherings well into her 70s.

“It seemed like you could just show up at Ginny’s house any time with no notice and five friends, and the next thing you know, she’d have a whole dinner laid out for you,” Doug said.

Doug’s son Chase remembers Ginny as an impossibly happy person, full of life and light.

“She had a certain old-fashioned farm-girl mentality,” Chase said. “She was just the happiest person around, really. She was almost overly positive. I don’t think she could say a bad thing about anybody.”

Ginny even remained positive as Les began experiencing health problems, including a series of strokes.

“She took such good care of him,” Chase said. “I think she kind of wore herself down.”

A group of round-the-clock home healthcare staff helped Ginny care for Les until he passed away in 2006. After his death, Ginny’s health also declined, and Doug credits the home healthcare nurses — particularly Jessica Kurkowski — for keeping her comfortable until the very end.

“They (the home healthcare staff) were a fabulous addition to the family,” Doug said.

Although the family will miss Ginny’s sunny presence around the lodge, Doug takes solace knowing that she is in a better place.

“It’s hard, but it was her time. It was a blessing, really,” Doug said.

A memorial service and reception will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Flathead Lake Lodge.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.