Harold F. Mora

Harold Fred Mora graduated to heaven on February 9, 2018, at the age of 81 surrounded by his loving children and grandchildren, after a brief hospitalization for heart and renal failure. Visitation will be open to family and friends on Thursday, February 15, 2018 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Schnider funeral home. His celebration service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 16, 2018 at Victory Church, 3220 11th Ave S, with burial to follow at Highland Cemetery. Harold had a passion for faith, family, building and the great outdoors. Harold was the kind of man who didn’t have to tell you who or what he believed because he quietly just lived it out in the life that he created for himself and his family. He has left a legacy for his children and grandchildren to live out. Proverbs 13:22 was a scripture he lived by, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” He may have left us for his new home in heaven, but he has left a legacy of faith and life that is now ours to live out and honor through the way we live our lives. He combined many of his passions into a Seeley Lake recreation home that he and his wife Sonja, the love of his life, constructed and built as a legacy to their children and grandchildren. Family would gather at Seeley, with Harold the Camp Director assigning projects, cooking meals, and gathering a busy family for times of family bonding which he cherished. He and his wife, Sonja designed and built five homes, some of which appeared on the Tour of Lights as well as the Great Falls Tour of Homes. Harold was noted for drawing plans for each home, making articulate, accurate calculations by hand, amazing the architects for his accuracy and creativity designing and drawing plans. Building was a passion and a hobby, not his full-time job. Family was his passion and focus even after the passing of his wife, Sonja. Harold continued the Sonja tradition of gathering family. He took great pride in laboring over an incredible home cooked meal, gathering his family for special occasions, or just a needed family gathering. At family gatherings, and family meetings, the wisdom he imparted was valuable mentoring often riddled with his unique subtle witty humor. He was proud of his children and grandchildren, and loved to follow them around the state and nation. He was a man of deep thought, family tradition and legacy. His family will forever cherish his traditions, Seeley breakfasts, the first car tradition for each grandchild, Christmas Eve with Santa, Christmas seafood spread, and the occasional “family meetings” to discuss and plan the future. Harold’s wisdom and hard work was critical to maintaining his wife, Sonja’s family farm in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada. He spent a great deal of energy and pride to help her maintain the family farm through the years, and kept her heritage still to this date. He cherished the annual family gatherings in Canada to honor his wife, Sonja’s legacy, revisiting the farming operation as a memorial. He and Sonja traveled throughout Canada during the years together, and loved their special place, Banff National Park. Harold served in the military for over 40 years. He joined the Montana Air National Guard on 6 December 1953, he was eventually promoted to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant, the top enlisted rank, and retired on 1 June 1994. His great achievements in the military were attributed to his outstanding attention to detail, impeccable organization, and analytical ability to bring clarity to complex issues. His professional attributes were also the noted character qualities he employed in the legacy of life outside the military. Born on a struggling ranch at Eden, Montana, he and his 6 sisters and 3 brothers worked hard to keep the family ranch afloat. As the youngest of 10, he had the rare opportunity that the demands of the ranch did not allow others. He was the only child to graduate from high school. Harold loved hunting and fishing with his family. Right up until his last days, he was still fishing and employing his unique ability to actually hook and land the big ones. Whether fishing from shore, or the boat, he loved to be on the water with a fishing pole in hand. He loved hunting with his family. While he might not be able to keep up with the young bucks in his later years, he loved to lay out a strategic plan of attack, then critique the hunt in his humorous insightful way. His family loved the post hunt chats with Gramps, often becoming stories that lived on. Harold served others throughout his life, not only in his military career, but in his personal life. He served as baseball coach and board member for many years. He served the community on the tax appeal board, specializing in property tax assessments employing his building expertise. He served at his church in many capacities over the years and continued serving. He served his family in whatever capacities they needed assistance, often getting roped into supporting music, sports, building projects, or whatever else family and friends were in need of. His work ethic right up to his last days was remarkable. Harold will be missed by all of his family, yet they rest in confident peace assured that he is in a far better place, in heaven with his Lord and Savior, and reunited with his wife, Sonja. Survivors are his loving children, daughters Renae (Pat) Bolton and Pam (Gary) Hart; son Thomas (Nancy) Mora; grandchildren, Tyler Bolton, Tiffany (Tim) Rhoden, and Trevor Bolton; Spenser and Gina Hart; Quinn and Connor Mora. Of special mention is his and Sonja’s close companion and favorite dog, Frosty. You are loved as much as you loved, and will be missed deeply from all of your loved ones, family and friends.Your legacy will live on, and the wisdom you imparted will continue to impact generations. Donations may be made to Harold and Sonja’s memorial prayer garden at Victory Church.