William "Bill" Surmi

William Bill Surmi, 91, passed away on November 12, 2016 of natural causes.A vigil service will be Friday, November 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. The funeral liturgy will be Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. both will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Bill was born on June 16, 1925, to William and Anna (Klapak) Surmi. He was the third of four children. He attended grade school at Sand Coulee Elementary School, a walk over the hill from his home. He attended high school at Centerville High School. During this time, he also helped his dad work the Surmi Coal Mine. He graduated from high school in 1943 and continued to work in the mine, as well as delivering coal to their customers. In March 1945, he joined the Army Air Force and trained at Gardner Field in Amarillo, Texas. He was stationed at Douglas AFB in Los Angeles, California until discharged in October 1945. He returned to coal mining with his dad. After his dad passed away in 1952, he opened the Giffin Coal Mine, working construction in the summer, and mining in the winter. Bill remained at home with his mom. He was hired as the Sand Coulee postmaster on September 27, 1962 and retired in 1992.Bill was an active community member of the Gulch. He helped organize Sand Coulees 100th Birthday held in 1984. He was an active member of the St. James Holy Name Society, with St. James Catholic Church in Sand Coulee, then the St. Pius X Parish in Centerville. He organized and was secretary of the Sand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department and was one of the founders and president for the Cascade County Rural Fire Council. He held the position for 17 years. He received a commendation from the State of Montana for his many years of service when he retired.Bill enjoyed his softball and bowling leagues with buddies from the Gulch for years. He played many poker and card games with family when they got together on Sundays, special occasions or just for a good game of cards. He enjoyed growing a big vegetable garden every year while he worked. Bill retired and moved to town, and lived next door to his niece and her husband, Sandy and Stan Mayernik. The lovebug shot him good when he began going with Gena (Virginia Tuss) Sevalstad, his honey bun since 1999. An old friendship rekindled to a romance and never ended, even when she moved to Dillon, Montana. He would have dinner with her in Black Eagle every night. He became an adopted Grandpa to the Sevalstad family and enjoyed many holidays and celebrations with them. The family was truly like his own.Our family held a 90th birthday celebration for Bill in 2015 and two of his sisters traveled here with the nieces and nephews from California, the Sevalstads and many friends and relatives. It was a nice time to reflect on how special he was to all his extended families. He was a fellow who liked a good joke, even if it was on him.He is survived by his sister, June Duncan; his sweetheart, Gena Sevalstad; and nieces and nephews who all love him and will miss him.He was preceded in death by his brother, George; sister Irene Kukkola; and nephew Dennis Kukkola.Thank you to Beehive Homes who cared for him with kindness for 6 months.