Stan Strom

Stan Strom, 77 of East Helena, passed away late Sunday, March 5, 2017, at Peace Hospice in Great Falls, MT. The family is following his wishes in regards to holding a funeral service. Stan was born September 27, 1939 in Shelby, MT. He was the second oldest child in a large family and he had many happy times in the Shelby area. Stan graduated from Northern Montana State in Havre and later earned a Master’s Degree from U.C. Berkeley in Environmental Science. Stan worked in various aspects of public health, and eventually retired from the State of Montana in Helena. He had two daughters with his first wife, Kay (Woldtvedt) Strom: Reba Strom and Shelly (Strom) Solopow. They later divorced and he remarried Kathy (Bloom) Strom. After their divorce, he married his current wife, Sylvia (Stevens) Strom and they were married for 17 years. Stan has many skills from carpentry to creating his own fishing lures. He was an artist a musician and singer and amateur chef. He enjoyed fishing at Flathead Lake, and many other areas in Montana. He enjoyed spending time with his family throughout his life. In his retirement Stan and Sylvia spent time involved in production of syrups and jams designed to sell at the Farmers Market. They also attended church at St. Paul’s Methodist Church and were members of the Helena Emmaus Community. He is survived by wife Sylvia (Stevens) Strom; daughters Reba Strom and Shelly (Strom) Solopow; sisters Wanda (VanGunten) Shourds and Donna Pace; grandchildren Rachel (Strom) Knutson, Marias, Dante, and Julian Solopow;as well as many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and longtime family friends whom he cherished. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Emma Jeanette Gardipee and Lawrence “Swede” Strom; brothers Billy “Putt-Putt” VanGunten, Jimmy VanGunten, and Robert VanGunten; and sister Beverly Miller. “Illegetimi Non Carborundum!” With his permission, the family would like to include some rather personal and eloquent words by his former brother-in-law, Stan Woldtvedt: “I will remember him with mixed feelings, but mostly he showed me perspectives I hadn’t thought of before. Such as, the imbedded racial (under)tones within White Society. (Also) Taking me fishing after losing my dog...all the folk songs he could play and sing well, although I felt intimidated and unable to follow his lead at the time. Just trying to say that we all have our faults, and the reasons for having them. Strom was a force of nature, and I will miss his presence in this world.”