Ronald "Ron" Joseph Blaquiere

Ronald Joseph Blaquiere, 76, died on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at his mountain home outside of Monarch, Montana, after battling Parkinson’s for 10 years.

Ron was born on November 21, 1946, to Dave Blaquiere and Ilah “Arlene” Dodge Blaquiere. He was the middle of three sons and was raised in Harlowton, Montana, graduating from high school there in 1966.

He married Carol Reynolds in June of 1967, and they had two children, Brandi and Cody, with whom he shared his birthday. They divorced in 1985. He married Jay Ober the summer of 1986, and they divorced soon after. In 1988, he met his soul mate Laura Lyons, and on July 7, 1992, they married, adding two daughters, Heather and Heidi to his family.

In 1967, he accepted an apprenticeship for the Milwaukee Railroad, and he and Carol moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 4 years. When the apprenticeship was over, they moved back to Harlowton where he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad until they closed. In May of 1973, he and his dad opened a part time business together, B n B Cycle Shop, fixing motorcycles. He worked at the Martinsdale Lumber Mill for a couple of years until 1980, when he was hired with Burlington Northern in Livingston, Montana. In 1983, he was transferred to the Alliance, Nebraska Diesel Shop. He worked there until 1995, when he was able to transfer to Great Falls, Montana, bringing him back to his home state. In 2007, he retired from BNSF after 41 years of service, not ever using one sick day during his entire career.

His mountain home was his pride and joy. The log structure itself was built by someone else, but he did all the rest of the work on it, taking him 10 years to complete. He loved living there, and was always outside messing around on the tractor, or hitting golf balls on his private driving range. His hobbies included golfing, camping, hunting, fishing, riding motorcycles, playing card games (he loved to play poker), and he loved to beat everyone at his favorite game, TUK. He and Laura were members of a Goldwing Motorcycle club, and they were able to take many wonderful trips with them and many solo trips as well. From 2014-2020, they wintered in Casa Grande, Arizona, where they reconnected with old friends, and met many new ones.

Ron is survived by his wife, Laura Blaquiere of Monarch; two brothers, Dave (Wilma) Blaquiere of Great Falls and Bill (Cheryl) Blaquiere of Billings; three children, Brandi (Tim) Reinhardt and Heather (Robert Runstrom) Mittan of Great Falls, and Heidi Budd of Alliance, Nebraska; 17 grandchildren, Tia Kemper, Trevor Malewski, Sara Mittan, Elijah Budd, Dylan Blaquiere, Katie Blaquiere, Morgan Blaquiere, Logan Mittan, Jason Blaquiere, Joey Blaquiere, Tyler Blaquiere, Bridger Blaquiere, Jaxon Reinhardt, Uriah Reinhardt, Keegan Reinhardt, Kaylene Stewart, and Chris Stewart; very special niece, Lanie Paizdwe; 29 great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and many wonderful friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dave and Arlene; son, Cody Ron; and son-in-law Junior Budd.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 1 pm, at the Neihart Senior Center, in Neihart, Montana.

Memorials are suggested to The Chapel in the Pines, in Neihart Montana.