Jerry Rawles

Jerry Rawles was born on January 22, 1929, to Billie and George Rawles in Great Falls where he was raised with his brother and sister. He was an Eagle Scout and later became a Scout Master for the Boy Scouts. He graduated from Great Falls High School in 1947 where he was an all-state football player and played on the first East West Shrine football game. In 1948 he married his high school sweetheart, Delly Larson. They would eventually divorce. Jerry went to work for the Great Northern Railroad in 1948. He was also very involved with the development of the Kings Hill Ski Area now Showdown. In 1956 he moved to Libby, Montana where he became a traffic clerk for the J. Neils Lumber Company. In 1958 he married Suzie Israelson and in the following years they had 3 sons, Scott, Kirk and Mike. During this time he also became the president of Kootenai Winter Sports which developed the Turner Mountain ski area near Libby. In 1968 Jerry was promoted to Traffic Manager with the Champion International Lumber Company and the family moved to Tacoma, Washington. He would work with Champion until his retirement in 1989. He was active as a coach in youth sports and supported all of his son's athletic endeavors. In 1995 Jerry and Suzie moved to Breckenridge, Colorado. They enjoyed skiing and the Colorado lifestyle for 25 years and Jerry skied until he was 85 years old. They also started a cottage industry of recycling ski poles and skis and producing wind chimes and ski benches with all proceeds donated to the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. Jerry is survived by his daughter, Nancy (Barry) Rafferty; grandchildren, James (Melissa) Rafferty, Kelly (John) Frick, great-granddaughters, Hannah Rafferty and Addison Frick, wife Suzie; sons, Scott (Jacque), Kirk (Laurie), and Mike (Annie); along with grandsons, Zach, Hunter, and Freddie Rawles.