Loren Gewald

Loren W. Gewald Jr. 80, of Great Falls, passed away Saturday, January 17, 2015 as a result of Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson Disease.A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Loren Smokey was born on November 7, 1934 to Loren and Lillian Gewald in Great Falls. He attended Great Falls High School and then went to work for the ACM Company. In April 1958 Loren accepted a position with The Great Falls Fire Department as a firefighter, advancing to engineer and retiring as captain in 1986. Leaving the city fire department he continued his career in fire fighting to work as Assistant Fire Chief for the Havre Air Force Station. Never a person to only be working one job, Loren worked as Bus Driver for Hall Transit and Big Sky Bus Lines for over 30 years. Years of selling boats for the Coast to Coast Store allowed him the opportunity to spend time at the river or skiing at Holter Lake.Anyone who knew Loren was aware that his greatest passion in life was his love of motorcycles. From an early age on he lived for the time he could spend on his bike. There probably was not a motorcycle that Loren did not own throughout his life time, he just could not resist the feel of a new cycle even if it meant trading every 6 months or so. Camping trips included pulling a 5th wheeler and a trailer with 2 or 3 different types of bikes and a 4 wheeler. Winter never deterred him either, he would get his scooter out and ride it around town and most often it would be parked at the Elks Club while he bowled or went for his daily steam bath. Loren was proud to be able to ride his motorcycle until his Parkinson disease affected his balance.From the time he could walk, Loren was involved in sports. He was a member of the Great Falls American Hockey Team and rarely missed playing a game. From racket ball, handball, baseball, softball and bowling, Loren excelled in them all. His competitive nature was evident in whatever he did.Loren is survived by his soul mate and wife Virginia; his children Loren (Helen) Gewald III of Vail, AZ and Diane (Pat) Pittman of Stillwater, OK; granddaughter Erin (Buddy) Hall of Sand Springs, OK and brother Bill (Kay) Quast of Great Falls.He was preceded in death by his parents Loren and Lillian and stepmother Emma.A special thanks to the staff at Missouri River Nursing Home and especially the Dementia Unit staff. The kindness, care and attention extended to Loren and Virginia by the staff helped make a difficult time easier.