In Remembrance: Park Service salutes former employee who died of Covid-19
Nearly 20 Glacier National Park Service staff lined the roadway to honor the passing of Kevin Skunkcap, a previous employee who recently died from COVID-19, as his funeral procession drove by the west entrance Thursday morning. (Teresa Byrd/Hungry Horse News)
Glacier National Park employees gathered near the Park’s west entrance Thursday morning to salute the memory of Browning resident Kevin Skunkcap, who died recently from Covid-19, as his body was being transported across the Continental Divide, flanked by an escort of ranger vehicles.
According to his most recent Park supervisor, Jennifer Baker, Skunkcap had worked seasonally for Glacier as a visitor use assistant at the Two Medicine entrance station for seven summers, from 2014 to 2019. He had left the Park Service before the 2020 season after receiving a year-round position in Browning, Baker said.
She was one of many Glacier Park employees who came out to recognize Skunkcap.
Baker, who worked with Skunkcap for most of his Park Service tenure, most vividly remembered his cheerful demeanor.
“He had a very lovely and contagious smile,” said Baker “If he smiled at you — which he always did — you couldn’t help but smile back. I mean, he just had a great smile.”
The procession and salute were an expression of the Park’s wish to show respect to Skunkcap’s family and his years of service, said public affairs officer Gina Kerzman.
Superintendent Jeff Mow, who was among the nearly 20 staff members who lined the roadway as the procession passed, also remembered Skunkcap’s buoyant, infectious personality.
“Covid’s impacting our communities in many ways and this is an opportunity for us to pay our respects to, not only Kevin, but to others who have also passed because of Covid,” Mow said.