Howard Charles Donaldson

1931 - 2023

Howard Charles Donaldson passed away Monday morning December 11, 2023 of natural causes at his home outside of Denton, Montana. He was born February 21, 1931 in Lewistown, Montana, the son of John and Eleanor (Gilkey) Donaldson. He was joined by sister, Phyllis (Senef) and younger brother, Harold within a span of three years. Howard grew up on a farm east of Denton, attended a couple of one room country schools, eventually graduating from Denton High School. He played saxophone in a dance band called the Spika Dance Orchestra with Frankie and Albert Spika along with Albert Ployhar and Ed Billadeau. They played in community halls like Hoosac, Armington, Coffee Creek, Alton, and Square Butte. He often said, "Those people from Hawarden were crazy. They wanted to keep dancing until the sun came up!" He joined the Air National Guard after high school and spent some time in Georgia, Texas, and California.

His sister Phyllis set Howard up with a college friend of hers named Doris on a blind date to go to a dance in Billings, Montana and that was it! On June 17, 1955 he was united in marriage to Doris (Kenyon) in Livingston, Montana. They made their home on a farm east of Denton the remainder of his life. In 1958, Howard and Doris started their family. They had four children, Dwight, Lloyd, Terri, and Ronalea. Howard and Doris were married 64 years until her death in 2019.

He farmed his entire life, first with his dad and brother, and eventually enjoyed helping his sons farm and ranch. He was still driving combine at age 81. He tore down a pool hall and a house and used the wood to build their own house after drawing up plans and even making a model replica of it first, doing all of the work. Dad enjoyed planting trees and shrubs, working with his apples, making drop donuts, and he loved making and eating ice cream!

He is survived by his children, Dwight (Brenda), Lloyd (Tami), all of Denton, Terri of Anchorage, Alaska, Ronalea (Stephen) of Bozeman; sister-in-law, Carol (Kenyon) of Oregon; 14 grandchildren, Stephanie (Scott), Gina (Drew), Dan, Addie (Paul), Riley, Parker, Callie, Jessica (Michael), Travis, Logan, Emily (Peter), Spencer, Trevor and Tyler; 8 great-grandchildren, Connor, Preston, Mason, Ty, Flint, Ella, Cash, Emmy; and several nieces and nephews.

Howard was preceded in death by his wife, Doris; his parents, John and Eleanor; his brother and sister-in-law, Harold and June Donaldson; sister and brother-in-law, Phyllis and Rusty Senef; brother-in-law, Bob Kenyon; and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Ralph and Dalcie Kenyon.

Funeral Service for Howard will be Saturday, December 23, 2023, 11:00 a.m. in the Denton Town Hall. Memorial donations can be made to a charity of your choice and left with Creel Funeral Home.

Arrangements are under the care of Creel Funeral Home. Howard's family and friends can share memories and condolences at www.creelfuneralhome.com