Michael G. (Jerry) Crowfoot

MICHAEL G. (JERRY) CROWFOOT Our loving husband, father, and grandfather passed away Sunday evening at home, surrounded by family members. He had been diagnosed with cancer on November 11, 2007, and courageously battled its spread throughout his body until the end. Mike was born in Denver, Colorado on March 31, 1942, to George and Irene Crowfoot. He served in the Army, returning to Denver until he moved to Bozeman in 1976. He always loved Montana and was glad to return after a brief stint in Page, Arizona, in the early 1990s. He was an avid hunter of elk and shot one almost every year. His biggest prize was finally getting a special moose permit and successfully filling the tag. He also enjoyed many camping trips with friends and family. One of his proudest accomplishments was in wearing the title of #8220;recovering alcoholic,#8221; having quit drinking in January 1984. He had attempted to quit drinking a number of times before this, but he accepted the complete surrender to a higher power this time, which saved him and gave him his life back until his final days. He was the Service Manager at Simpson Honda and had many devoted customers. We cannot count the number of times when he was in the hospital, Mountain View Rehab Center, and at the Cancer Center for treatment that customers would come up to him and say how he had taken such good care of them in servicing and maintaining their Hondas. Even when the brain cancer started to take away his memory and he could not remember, he was gracious to these people. We value the care and concern of his fellow employees and customers from Simpson Honda. Mike is survived by his wife Sue, daughters Jaime Baker of Great Falls and Angie (Darin) Brewster, and their wonderful children Jacob (10), Alexa (5), and Ty (3) of Belgrade. Missy and Michael Jennings, his grandchildren from a previous marriage, lived with him and Sue since 1998, thus giving them the title of #8220;grandparents raising grandchildren.#8221; Wendy Jennings, his daughter from a previous marriage, and her two children Gene Allen and Elizabeth Jenette survive and live in Tennessee. He was blessed with a wonderful family growing up, along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Surviving are his sister Margie Schofield and brothers Larry Crowfoot of Denver and Art (Sumi) Crowfoot of Maryland, and sister-in-law Shirley Crowfoot of Denver, along with numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, a brother in infancy, and his oldest brother, Joe Crowfoot (Shirley). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bozeman Deaconess Foundation to specifically go to the Cancer Center Patient Care Fund, or to the Bozeman Deaconess Hospice so that they may add to their funds to build a private facility to care for terminally ill patients who are unable to be cared for at home by hospice personnel and family. We are eternally grateful for the many good people who cared for Mike at the hospital, Mountain View, and especially the personnel of the Cancer Center and Hospice, along with the ambulance drivers who took him to the ER that last time; and Jason Jarrett of the County Sheriff Department who was great, even getting Mike to act for a bit as though he weren#8217;t in pain. His best friend of 30 years, Rick, visited him faithfully during this illness. We will never forget their kindness to him in his last 2 months with us. Cremation has taken place. A vigil will be held at Dahl#8217;s Funeral Home at 7:00 pm on Friday, January 18 with visitation from 6:00 #8211; 7:00 pm. The funeral will be held on Saturday, January 19 at 11:00 am at Resurrection Catholic Church. A reception will immediately follow at The Hilton Garden Inn, and all are invited to celebrate Mike#8217;s life. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same; but as God calls us one by one the chain will link again.