Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Charles (Chuck) Franklin Steffes

Steffes passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2019 in Whitehall, Montana.

Chuck was born to Urban Paul Steffes and Helen Mileski Steffes on July 26, 1940, in Traverse City, Michigan. During his youth, he helped with the family store, enjoyed hunting and generally getting into mischief. While there, he had a role in the passage of a state law banning the sale of dynamite to minors.

He went on to enlist in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1965 and worked on aircraft at what was then the Naval Auxillary Air Station in Meridian, Mississippi. It was during this assignment that he met his future wife and lifelong partner Linda Click and they had a daughter, Marie.

After his term of service, he moved his family to Michigan. He soon chose to pursue a lifelong dream to move west and followed his brother Paul to Plains Montana in 1966. Shortly thereafter, he gained employment with the Anaconda Copper Co. and moved to Whitehall Montana. He worked at the Berkeley Pit as a boilermaker until 1982. Following that he worked odd and remote jobs in places like Coalstrip to continue to provide for his family, which was very important to him. Ultimately, he grew the small and successful home business, Cactus Welding. He was passionate about working with metal and enjoyed constructing creative solutions to fix any problem.

Chuck loved his family and cared for them with all his heart. He also loved his dogs and was never without their company. He enjoyed the great land that is Montana, hunting and the pursuit of mushrooms. He was known as a prankster but was always selfless in his willingness to aid family, friends or strangers in need of help. He will be missed.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; daughter, Marie and her husband Truitt Smith; his brother Paul and his wife Ann; and his sisters Connie Zoulek and Bonnie Priess.

There will be no services. Should friends desire, please consider making a donation in his memory to the Albert’s Angels fund - http://www.albertsangelfund.org/index.htm or your local animal shelter.

 

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