Columbia Falls alumnus killed in UTV rollover

A local man was killed in an UTV rollover accident on May 13.

He was later identified as Chris Cheff, 34, of Kalispell.

The accident happened near Fourth Avenue West North near Columbia Falls shortly before 10 p.m.

Cheff grew up in Columbia Falls, the son of Kim and Scott Cheff. He was coming home to his parents’ house on a different route than the rest of the group after a gathering with North Valley Search and Rescue when the accident happened, his wife Amy said.

Cheff had been a member of search and rescue since he was 18, Amy said.

A family man, he worked in the oil fields as a wireline field operator across the West — most recently in Texas.

“He’d drive 25 hours to make it home in a day,” Amy said.

Cheff worked 20 days on and 10 days off.

He graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 2005 and almost immediately began competing in demolition derbies, Amy said, where he had a lot of success. He also got his wife into the sport as well, she said.

Hungry Horse News columnist Larry Wilson once noted that a few years back, Cheff used a pair of brand new, unused wool socks to start a fire and warm up some people he had rescued during a North Valley Search and Rescue Mission.

“The extended family has lifted us up,” she said. "It’s been overwhelming. I lot of people loved him.”

Cheff was in the process of restoring an old Chevy square body pickup. He had just started sanding it and painting it before the accident, Amy said.

She said services will likely be in July.

A gofundme effort to help out his family has been set up at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-amy-through-her-loss?fbclid= IwAR04hQtGwwLPLBOuI-He-tlkXrnwRC9NnkSpS1e7y3P_ Rv_ AXEUX2KHhx74& utm_campaign=p_cp_ url& utm_medium=os& utm_source=customer