Charles William “Bill” Spicher, age 65, died Monday afternoon Nov. 12, 2007, at the Liberty Medical Center in Chester from complications of cancer.
A memorial service will be 11 a. m. Saturday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Rudyard. A reception will follow at the Hingham Community Center. Bill’s ashes will be buried in the Hingham Cemetery. Bill was born April 30, 1942, in Havre. He was one of five children born to Charles Rodney Spicher and Hildegarde Marie Gehlen. Bill grew up on the family farm at Hingham and received his formal education there. After is graduation from Hingham High School in 1960, Bill continued his schooling at Northern Montana College for a short while, then returned to the family farm. In 1963, Bill was inducted into the U. S. Army. He attained the rank of private, E-2, and trained as a radio operator at Fort Gordon, Ga. He received an honorable discharge in 1964 and transferred to the Army Reserves, where he remained active until 1969. Bill married Sharon D. Smith on June 25, 1966 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Rudyard. They made their home in the Hingham community, where they farmed and raised their two sons. In their later years, they enjoyed traveling to Arizona in the winter. Bill was a faithful member of the Hingham Lutheran Church; he served several terms on the church council and always participated in church activities. He also served on the Hingham Farmer’s Elevator Board and was a longtime member of the Havre Elks Club. He enjoyed other memberships in the Rudyard Trap Club, the El Mirage Horseshoe Club, and the Havre and Fort Benton golf leagues. Bill maintained a private pilot’s license and loved to fly. Bill was a member of the Montana Pilot’s Association, the Chester R.C. Pilot’s Club, and served on the Hill County Airport board. His other hobbies included hunting; attending auction sales; reading, mainly historical and military books; playing cards, especially pinochle;, and solving crosswords puzzles. Bill took a metal lathing class as an adult and has since made many pieces of interesting metal artwork. With his creative skills and love of “tinkering in his shop”, Bill actually built several homemade farm implements for his own use. Bill was first diagnosed with cancer 17 years ago. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rodney in 1964 and Hildegarde in 1999; his brother Daryl in 2001; and two sisters, Lynne in 1969 and Charlene in 2004. Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Sharon Spicher of Hingham; sons Rod (Juanita) Spicher of Hingham and Scott (Melissa) Spicher of Spokane, Wash.; six grandchildren; sister Gail (Darryl) Meyer of Polson; uncle Richard Spicher of Whitefish; several in-law’s, Joyce Spicher of Hingham, Stan (Karen) Smith of Mahtomedi, Minn., and Stu (Leslie) Smith of Rudyard; and numerous nephews and nieces. Memorials may be given to the Hi-Line Health Foundation in Chester, the Hi-Line E.M.S. Fund in Rudyard, or donor’s choice. Cremation and arrangements are by the Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester.
