Harold Moen

Harold Olaf Moen, 97, died in his home Nov. 28, 2014, in Kalispell.

He was born March 27, 1917, in Hallock, Minn. He lived in Minnesota until 1928 when the Moen family moved to Eastern Montana, north of Wolf Point. It was there that Harold began riding horses and in his words, “doing real cowboy work.”

The next few years were extremely difficult. It was the Great Depression and a severe drought caused all the crops to fail. During this harsh time, the family barely survived.

 In the fall of 1936, the family moved to Western Montana near Whitefish. Here, Harold and his father cut timber and worked in a sawmill. Harold made 47 1/2 cents per hour and thought he was rich.

In 1942, Harold was drafted and served in the Army during World War II. After basic training, he was assigned to the 33rd Medical Ambulance Battalion. Harold’s outfit was sent to England where they were in charge of evacuation of the wounded by land, sea and air.

He was honorably discharged December 1945, and a few weeks later reunited with his fiancee, Alice Sturm. They were married March 1, 1946, near Moscow, Idaho. The newlyweds lived in Portland and Edmonds, Wash., before moving to Montana in 1949. Kalispell has been home to Harold since 1950.

 Harold had an innate understanding of all things mechanical and the skill to repair them. He supported his family by working as a mechanic and later in his career earned the title of master mechanic.

During the building of Hungry Horse Dam, Harold maintained heavy duty construction equipment. Throughout his career, he was employed by Columbia Falls Aluminum Co., Massey Ferguson Farm Implement Co. and Caterpillar, Inc. Prior to his retirement, Harold was supervisor of the Flathead County Shops.

Harold was preceded in death by his wife, Alice Moen; his son, Irvin Moen; and his four siblings and their spouses.

Harold is survived by his daughter Joann Perrett and son-in-law David Wilson; daughter-in-law Wren Moen; granddaughter Annette, and husband Rick Perry; great grandsons Jackson, Dylan and Luke Perry; brother-in-law Dick Mooney; eight nieces, four nephews and their families.

Visitation will be held at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home in Kalispell on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Fairgrounds Expo Building in Kalispell on Monday, Dec. 8, at 1 p.m.