Gordon Huddleston

Gordon Huddleston passed away Wednesday, December 4 after a six-year battle with prostate cancer.

He was born December 22, 1948, near Richland, Washington to Gorden and Dorothy (Pershall) Huddleston. In 1950 his family moved to Plattsburg, Missouri, where he attended school until the age of 10. The family then moved to Wilsall, Montana in 1959 where he attended school and graduated from Wilsall High School in 1966. He was active in all sports and academics there. He was the first member of his family to attend college, graduating in 1970 from Montana State University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was encouraged to do so by his high school teachers and principal. He met his wife Kathy at MSU and they married in 1971 at Holy Rosary in Bozeman. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2021. They have two children, Bridget (Chris) and Ryan (Christy) who, along with their four grandchildren (Brie, Devin, Addie & Maia), were his pride and joy; they all adored him. 

After graduating from MSU, Gordon worked for FMC Chemical Corp., Green River, Wyoming, as a process engineer and production manager for seven years. In 1977 he accepted a job at MSE, Inc. in Butte where he worked for 28 years in engineering, technical and management positions, including project manager, environmental dept. manager, technical services division manager, and company vice president. From 2004-2010 he helped start a Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Rochester, Minnesota, of which his daughter Bridget was part-owner. His primary role was baker. He loved the interaction with the customers and family connection. For 10 years thereafter, he was the gelato chef at Chocolaterie Stam in Rochester. He and Kathy divided their time between Bozeman, Montana and Rochester, Minnesota where their children and grandchildren live. He was a member of the Holy Spirit Catholic Communities in Butte and Rochester.

He enjoyed doing volunteer work, serving as a boy scout leader and boys' elementary basketball coach at Butte Central. He was a member of the Butte Exchange Club and board member, campaign chairman, and president of the United Way of Silver Bow County. He was also a past president of the Butte Chapter of the Montana Society of Engineers & member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He & Kathy were also members of the High Noon Toastmaster's, Montana State University Parent/Family Advisory Board and life members of the Montana State University Alumni Association. They recently celebrated their 50th reunion from MSU. They also volunteered weekly in their granddaughters' classrooms at Lincoln in Rochester. They attended all their grandkids' activities in Rochester & Bozeman. His favorite subjects were math and science, and he helped his grandkids with those subjects whenever needed. He also tutored other students formally and informally. 

Gordon served in the Montana and Wyoming Army National Guard from 1970-1976 as a SP-4 and an artillery specialist. He attended basic and specialty trainings in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. His unit was based in Rock Springs, Wyoming. 

He did a great deal of family genealogy and he had a passion for history and reading. He and Kathy especially enjoyed traveling to lands of their ancestors, Nova Scotia, France and Ireland, with Kathy's sister and brother in law, Liz and Jim Wallace. This March, he visited his great grandparents' gravesite in Springfield, Illinois, near Abraham Lincoln, and was thrilled to have found it. 

His brother Walter died in 1953 at age four and his sister Janice died in 1954 at age two, both in Missouri. He recently visited their gravesites there. His youngest sister Martha died this past May at age 65. 

His family includes his wife of 53 years Kathy (Nash); daughter and son-in-law Bridget (Chris) Sanders of Rochester, Minnesota; granddaughters Brie and Addie Sweeney; son and daughter-in-law Ryan (Christy) Huddleston of Bozeman, Montana; grandson and granddaughter Devin and Maia Huddleston; brother and sister-in-law Herb (Gery) Huddleston of San Antonio, Texas; sisters and brothers-in-law Benita (Ed) Roatch of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, Helen (Steve) Borchert of Lafayette, Indiana, Bob North of Minneapolis, Minnesota; nephews and nieces-in-law include Ron (Alana) Brunckhorst of Wilsall, Montana, Gerald (Aimee) Brunckhorst of Kalispell, Montana, Josh (Bernadette) and Luke Borchert and Charity (James) Morgan, all of Lafayette, Indiana, David Huddleston, Bulgaria, Heather (Adam) Hayes, Huntersville, North Carolina, Angela (Siddharth) Tripathi, Plano Texas and Kirsten (William) Alvarado, Ecuador; great-nieces Allison Gagnon, Hailey Brunckhorst, Tristyn Fleming, Ava Gustin, Ariana Hayes; and great nephews Cade Gagnon, Christopher Flanick and Elias Hayes.

A visitation will be held at 5 p.m., with a wake at 6 p.m., on Friday, December 20. A visitation will be held at 9 a.m., with a service at 10 a.m., on Saturday, December 21, both at Dahl Funeral and Cremation Service in Bozeman, Montana. Burial will take place at Sunset Hills Cemetery on Monday, December 23, at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to IMA (International Medical Alliance) through which Bridget and Addie (daughter and granddaughter) travel abroad to medically assist the less fortunate of the Dominical Republic. Memorials accepted at the following: everloved.com/life-of/gordon-huddleston/, venmo.com/u/Bridget-Sanders-5, cash.app/$bridgetsanders7.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at http://www.dahlcares.com.