Gordon Huddleston

Gordon passed away Wednesday, December 4, 2024, after a 6 yr. battle with prostate cancer. He was born December 22, 1948 near Richland, WA, 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, MT, in 1959 where he attended school and graduated from Wilsall High School in 1966. He was active in all sports & 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 & 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 4 grandchildren (Brie, Devin, Addie & Maia), were his pride & joy; they all adored him.

Gordon worked the majority of his career in Butte, where he accepted a job at MSE, Inc. in 1977. 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. Following his retirement in 2002, he helped start a Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Rochester, MN, of which his daughter Bridget was part-owner. He loved the baking, 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 and Rochester, MN, where their children and grandchildren live. 

He enjoyed doing volunteer work, serving as a boy scout leader & boys’ elementary basketball coach in Butte. He is past-president & campaign manager of the United Way of Silver Bow County & was also past-president of the Butte Chapter of the Montana Society of Engineers. He was a member of the 10+ Gallon Blood Donation Club. He & Kathy were members of the Montana State University Parent/Family Advisory Board and life members of the MSU Alumni Association. They recently celebrated their 50th reunion from MSU & helped with the reunion committee. They volunteered weekly in their granddaughters’ classrooms at Lincoln in Rochester & attended all their grandkids’ activities in Rochester & Bozeman. Gordon’s favorite subjects were math & science & he helped his grandkids with those whenever needed. He also tutored other students formally & informally. 

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

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

His brother Walter died in 1953 at age 4 and his sister Janice died in 1954 at age 2, both in Missouri. He visited their gravesites in March as well. His youngest sister Martha died this past May at age 65 & he & Kathy hosted her memorial at their home in Bozeman. 

His family includes his wife of 53 yrs. Kathy (Nash), daughter Bridget (Chris) Sanders, of Rochester, MN; granddaughters, Brie and Addie Sweeney; son, Ryan (Christy) Huddleston, of Bozeman; grandson & granddaughter, Devin & Maia Huddleston; brother, Herb (Gery) Huddleston, of San Antonio, TX; sisters, Benita (Ed) Roatch of White Sulphur Springs, MT, and Helen (Steve) Borchert of Lafayette, IN; and brother-in-law, Bob North, of Mound, MN.

All services will be at Dahl Funeral Home in Bozeman, MT; a wake will be held Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, 6:00 p.m. (viewing at 5:00 p.m.). Funeral Service will Saturday, December 21, 2024, 10:00 a.m. (viewing at 9:00 am). A luncheon will follow the service. Interment will take place Monday, December 23, 2024, 11:00 a.m., at Sunset Hills Catholic Cemetery. Memorials may be made to IMA (International Medical Alliance) through which Bridget and Addie (daughter and granddaughter) travel abroad to medically assist in the Dominican Republic. Please visit https://everloved.com/life-of-gordon-huddleston.