July 30th, 2014

Sgt. Jacob Lee Hanson
Born May 20, 1987 at Fort Lewis, Wash. Died July 21, 2014 at Fort Carson, Colo.
Jake spent his younger years in Pine River, Wis. where he attended Pleasant View Elementary School. The family moved to Deer Lodge  in 2000 where he graduated from Powell County High School in 2005. He attended two years at MSU Bozeman when he then decided to enlist in the Army in 2007 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was selected to attend The United State Military Academy at West Point in 2008 where after completing three years he chose to return to the Enlisted Ranks. He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colo. HHC Brigade, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry attaining the rank of Sergeant.
On July 13, 2013 he married his sweetheart, Jessica Fjermestad. Jake was a kind, loving husband, son and friend. He would do anything for anyone.
He is survived by his wife Jessica, father and mother, Roger and Marla Hanson of Deer Lodge,  birth mother Kathy (Tony) Jweid of Florida, grandmother Char Berbrick of Florida, grandfather Jerry Thuss of Wisconsin and many aunts, uncles, cousins & friends all over this country, including special friends Scot, Cory, Bob, Kyle & Zac.
Jake loved the outdoors... especially fly fishing. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, snowboarding and wakeboarding. He had a way of making friends (brothers) wherever he went. Some of his greatest adventures and making trouble were with Scot, Cory, Bob, Kyle and Zac. Jake loved to steal Kyle’s guitar to try and teach himself how to play. 
Though Jake’s life was short, his accomplishments were great. He lived more in 27 years than most do in a lifetime. He will be missed and never forgotten.
Funeral Services with Military Honors will be Wednesday (July 30) at 11 a.m. at the Jewell Funeral Home.
Memorials: Donors Choice.

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William Kelsey Haviland
William Kelsey Haviland, 62, of Lakewood, Colo., passed away on July 16, 2014 after a 50-year battle with Type-1 diabetes.
Bill was born in Deer Lodge on October 12, 1951 to James and Jean Haviland and raised in the Catholic Faith. Every day of his life he was inspired by his parents, family and friends.  Since he was old enough to wade the waters, Bill’s passion was fishing the wet fly in Montana’s rivers, creeks and mountain lakes. 
Bill graduated from Powell County High School in Deer Lodge in 1970. He began his forestry studies at Carroll College and graduated with a BA in recreation management from the University of Montana in 1976.  He was a proud member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity at UM. His career as a National Park Service ranger began in 1978 at Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site. Bill continued his work with the NPS at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in 1981, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in 1983 and Great Sand Dunes National Park in 1988. He continued his work with the NPS in concessions management at the Intermountain Regional Office in Lakewood. During his 38-year career, Bill cherished the land, his coworkers and the public. 
Bill’s father, Jim, preceded him in death in 2002.  Bill is survived by his bride Kade Haviland, daughters Jesse, Kelsey and Molly of Denver, and mother Jean Haviland of Deer Lodge.  Bill leaves behind four younger brothers: David Haviland of Helena, John (Gail) Haviland of Missoula, Allan (Diane) Haviland of Chubbuck, Idaho and Jeff (Vivian) Haviland of Burien, Wash.  Uncle Billy is also survived by eight nieces and nephews.
A vigil is on August 7 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Parish at 605 Clark in Deer Lodge.  Funeral services are on August 8 at 11 a.m. at the same location with interment at the Hillcrest Cemetery.   Reception following at St. Mary’s Center.  

Michael Donald Richardson
Michael Donald Richardson passed unexpectedly in the early morning hours of July 24, 2014 in Dillon.  He was born to Donald and Norita Richardson in Deer Lodge, amidst a wild Montana evening thunderstorm, on July 13, 1957. Mike was a modern renaissance man with a boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for life.  He utilized every minute he had available to him as fully as he could.
In his youth, Mike loved to work the family’s Rock Creek Lake mine with his Grandpa Pitman.  By the age of eight, he was driving vehicles, operating heavy equipment, and mastering the use of handguns and rifles; those early skills formed the foundation for Mike’s entire work and recreational lives.  Mike loved the outdoors. He got away every chance he could to ride his dirt bike up in the mountains, whether alone or with one of his several lifelong friends.  He also enjoyed his road bike, his inventions, and his many vehicular projects, and was an avid reader and lifelong autodidact.
Mike joined the Army in 1976 as a Military Policeman. He served in Heidelberg, Germany, and was honorably discharged in 1979.  He then served a stint in the Montana National Guard, simply because he wanted to play at driving tanks. He returned to Deer Lodge and spent some time as a correctional officer at Montana State Prison. He then spent a little time working for the Montana Forestry Division and as a log truck driver.  Mike saw the entire continental USA through the windshields of 18 wheelers; he was very proud of his nearly four million accident free miles.  Mike owned an ammunition company for several years; he was a first rate gunsmith, and was a certified weapons instructor.  He spent many years as a heavy equipment operator across the western U.S. and as a proud partner in an underground construction company; if you gave him an hour with any piece of equipment, Mike would be running it like a pro.  He gave credit to his uncle, Harley Pitman, for his skill with trucks and equipment, and to his father for his vast knowledge of all things gun related and his exceptional abilities as a mechanic.  At the time of his death, Mike was happily employed as an outside plant inspector at Heberly and Associates in Havre.
In 1984, Mike met his once-in-a-lifetime love, Eileen Hellie Smith.  He married her and her daughter Jill on September 13, 1986. He was overjoyed at the birth of his son Colton in 1993.  Michael believed that the true measure of a man is made through the eyes of his family.  Consequently, he worked very hard to be a great husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend, to great effect and with tremendous success.  He was a giant of a man with a heart and spirit to match his physical size.  We’re sure going to miss him. 
Mike was preceded in death by his grandparents, Harley and Nora Pitman and Philip and Katherine Richardson, his uncles Gene, Robert, and Charles Richardson and aunt Louise Waldorf, as well as his mother-in-law, Stella Hellie, and his brother-in-law Vernon Hellie. Mike is survived by his wife Eileen in Havre, daughter Jill Smith (Denis Girard), Missoula, and son Colton of Havre.  Also surviving are his parents, Norita and Don Richardson, Deer Lodge; father-in-law, Arnold “Ike” Hellie of Whitewater, sisters Dianne (Jim) Slater of Buckeye, Ariz. and  Valerie (David) Williams of Deer Lodge, brother Art of Belgrade, brother-in-law Michael Hellie of Whitewater, and sisters-in-law Kim Hellie and Lorraine Hellie of Malta, his uncle Harley (Helen) Pitman of Deer Lodge, his best friends Jim Gaskell and Dave Scott, both of Deer Lodge, and by cherished childhood friend Judie (Clark) Lucas of New Meadow, Idaho.  He will be fondly remembered by nephews Ryan Gould (John Martin) of Goodyear, Ariz., Dusty (Angie) Gould of Calif., Tyler Richardson, Bozeman, Jason (Courtney) Hellie and Addam (Tayler) Hellie of Whitewater, and Ray (Christine) Field of Spokane and by nieces Tessah Richardson (Cal Evans) of Williston, N.D., and Dr. Mikita Hellie of Spokane, as well as by many cousins and cousins-in-law and his many friends, co-workers, fellow veterans across the nation, and his beloved Big Black Dodge. 
Cremation has taken place; Mike’s ashes will be scattered in some of his favorite places.  Placement of a memorial headstone will be held at the Hellie Family Cemetery north of Whitewater at a later date. Family and friends are cordially invited to a memorial barbecue at Pepin Park in Havre at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 2. Bring blankets, lawn chairs, and good memories of Mike and maybe some food if you have time to get it ready. Come when you are ready, leave when you are tired.