Paul John Rutten

Paul Rutten, 95, of Great Falls, passed away March 9, 2018. A celebration of his life will be held on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at Schnider Funeral Home Hospitality Room. Paul was born in Drake, North Dakota to John and Elizabeth Rutten amidst 12 brothers and sisters. Paul grew up in North Dakota where he met the love of his life, Ruth Haugen. They married in 1946, and moved to Billings, Montana. Paul was employed as a mechanic at City Chevrolet and later opened his own repair shop there. In the early 50’s, Paul and his family moved to Great Falls. It was here they built their first home, while Paul worked at City Chevrolet. In the mid 50’s Paul built and independently operated Paul’s Repair Shop. In his spare time, Paul built a four plex with the help of Ruth and friends. For health reasons, Paul gave up his repair shop and built a home on 6th St NW. He then worked at a camper supply place and drove school bus. From here he began his new adventure - establishing Northern Mobile Homes. Their first custom built trailer was built in Great Falls; next moving to Ft. Shaw and building 14 more. Along with building mobile homes, Paul developed a loading system (Northern Boat Loaders) to carry his boat on his pickup.This made it possible for him to pull their camper AND have his boat as they traveled. After Paul’s retirement, he and Ruth spent many years enjoying their adventures in their travel trailer. They especially enjoyed being snowbirds in the south and salmon fishing off the Washington coast. Paul found time to teach his girls and grandchildren to love the outdoors through trips, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, waterskiing, and so much more. Paul, Ruth, and the girls’ families made many wonderful memories together. Paul leaves behind his wife of 72 years along with daughters Carol (Jerry) Cummings of Bogart, GA, Nancy (Toby) Gaskins of Great Falls, and Peggy (Ken) Trout of Camden, SC. He also had the joy of watching his 8 grandchildren grow to adulthood and met every one of their 22 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Peace Hospice of Great Falls.