Glenn W. Decker

Glenn W. Decker, 86, of Great Falls, died at home on Sunday, December 28, 2014.There will be a gathering to celebrate Glenns life at the Eagles Club, 1501 9th St S, Friday, January 2, 2015 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Dinner will be served.Glenn was born in Dillon, Montana, March 17, 1928 to Clarence Ashely Decker and Phyllis Montana Scully. He was the first of two sons and a third generation Montanan. The family lived in Dillon for two years before moving to Helena where he started school. During his time in Helena, Glenn began a lifetime passion for snow skiing on Mount Belmont, an area now known as the Great Divide by Marysville. The family then moved to Great Falls. While in Great Falls and going to school, he delivered liquor and wine to the Club Cigar and sold the Herald Newspaper. After his graduation from Great Falls High School in 1946 the family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Glenn attended the University of Alaska. The family moved to Kalispell after leaving Alaska, where Glenn worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. The family then moved back to Great Falls.He enlisted in the Army in 1949 and was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Glenn met Kathleen Pitcock from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania while he was in the Army. They were married on October 30, 1951. After two years in the Army, Glenn, Kathy, and their new daughter Montana Gayle returned to Montana. He attended Montana State University on the GI Bill and earned a degree in Civil Engineering. While in Bozeman, a son, William Jesse was born. After graduation Glenn went to work for Aluminum Corporation of America and was sent to work in the Dominican Re"public" and Surinam where he traveled to work by plane or boat. He returned from South America in 1960 and moved to Butte America where he was head of the Deer Lodge Forest engineering works. In 1966 he accepted a job with the United States Agency for International Development and took his family to East Africa where he was involved in projects in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia. After his East African adventure he went to work for an engineering firm in Chicago and was the Mideast representative spending much of his time in Beirut during a couple of wars. In 1971, Glenn moved back to Great Falls where he purchased Great Falls first self-service gas station/carwash. At the same time, he worked for Boeing doing missile upgrades in the area. In 1981, he started his own engineering firm and began designing, building and installing solar hot water systems. The firm installed systems in the federal buildings in Billings, Ogden, and Sheridan. In 1985, Glenn and Kathy purchased Rivershore Mobile Home Park and retired to a life on the river.Glenn loved to travel; he and Kathy were members of the MSquares square dancing group for many years, they traveled to many cities in Montana to dance and had many RV adventures with friends and family.He is survived by his wife Kathleen; son William (Linda) Decker; son-in-law Steve Thiesen all of Great Falls; grandsons Jesse Decker of Scottsdale, AZ, Lucas Decker of Portland, OR and Brandon Thiesen of Great Falls; and brother Dirk (Marge) Decker of Roswell, AZ.Glenn was preceded in death by his daughter Montana and granddaughter Kendall Theisen.