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Obituary: Gary A. LaValley

Gary A. LaValley, 63, passed away due to natural causes at Northern Montana Hospital Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, at Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at First Lutheran Church with Pastor Tanner Howard officiating. Graveside services will follow at 3 p.m. in the Joplin Cemetery.

Gary's family has requested that memorial donations be made to the LaValley Girls Education Fund in care of Stockman Bank, PO Box 1271, Havre, MT 59501, Lung Transplantation Services at UWMC, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, or to the charity of the donor's choice.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

Please visit Gary's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for his family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Gary was born May 1, 1953, in Great Falls, to David and Garnett (Adams) LaValley. He was raised in Great Falls until he turned 12, and then the family relocated to their farm on the Canadian border, north of Joplin, where he spent the remainder of his childhood. He attended Joplin schools, graduating from Joplin High School in 1971. He then spent three years in college studying biology, first at Eastern Montana College in Billings  then at the University of Montana in Missoula, and his last year at Montana State University-Northern in Havre.

During and following his school years, Gary farmed with his parents, and during the winters, worked as a metallurgist in Elko, Nevada, worked on the oil rigs in Gillette, Wyoming, or helped his brother out with his business in Portland, Oregon.

In 1991, Gary married Yvette Sterner, and the couple had two daughters. In 1999, Gary's mother passed away, and his dad moved to Havre to live with Gary and Yvette. Gary was his dad's caretaker until he passed away in 2007, and his health began to decline early in 2008.

Gary loved sports. When he was younger, he played little league baseball at Sage Creek on their neighbor's pasture. In high school, he played football and basketball. While in college at Northern, he wrestled. Soon after college, he played minor league baseball for the Coors Brewing Company in Denver. He also passed on his love of sports to his daughters by coaching his oldest daughter's basketball team and attending every sporting event in which they participated.

He loved spending time with his daughters and always having a houseful of kids. His storytelling was incredibly vivid, but maybe not always 100 percent accurate. He also loved to hike and fish. He met his goal of returning to Grinnell Glacier in August of 2013 after having a double lung transplant in January of 2011. He especially enjoyed his fishing trips to Canada, Alaska and Oregon.

Gary was quite the history buff and loved to travel all over Montana. He later revisited and shared his knowledge and love for Montana with his wife, Yvette. He had love and passion for flying, so much that he got his pilot's license and his own Cessna 150 plane. Another hobby of Gary's was bartering on Tradio, not only for himself but for friends and family as well. Gary was an avid Griz fan as well as a Bobcat fan after his daughter started to attend Montana State University.

Gary was an amazing son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend. Memories of him will be loved and cherished forever.

He was preceded in death by his parents, David and Garnett LaValley; his brother Ronald LaValley; and his sister, Barbara LaValley.

Gary is survived by his beloved wife, Yvette LaValley, of Havre; his two daughters, Breanna (Austin Reichelt) LaValley of Carter and Brooke LaValley of Havre; his two granddaughters, Bromley Reichelt and Hadley Davey; his brother Dave (Brenda) LaValley of Portland, Oregon; and numerous nieces and nephews, including his nephew David LaValley, with whom he was quite close.

 

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