Wilbin "Bill" Watterud

Wilbin Dean Bill Watterud, 73, of Great Falls, died on Saturday, January 3, 2015 at the Missouri River Manor of natural causes.A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Bill was born on November 17, 1941 to Louie and Elvira Watterud at Powers Lake, North Dakota. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby. He never had an easy life, but was very loved and cherished by all his family, many friends, and caretakers. At age 5, Bill learned to walk with the help of his sister Beryl, who would wrap her arms around his chest from behind and hold him up and walk with him day after day, until the muscles in his legs were strong enough so that he could walk by himself.At age 13, he had to go live at the Grafton State School for the developmentally disabled when our father was killed in a horse accident and our mother had to find work to support herself and his younger sister.After many years of living apart from his family, he was able to be moved from Grafton to Shelby, MT where he lived in a group home, and then to a Conrad group home and eventually was transferred to Great Falls when some of his family members moved there too. He loved having his own room after living all those years in Grafton and had to share a room with many others and no private space to call his own.He loved music and spent his time all day long playing his many records, listening to his radio, and watching his TV, which was another thing that was new to him. He liked to listen to Elvis Presley, as well as Hank Williams Sr. and many other country music artists. He particularly liked to watch all the John Wayne movies and had every VHS tape to prove it. He participated in Special Olympics in his younger years. His biggest joy was to have his sisters bring him pizza and Mountain Dew.Bill never once complained about his pain from many broken bones from falls. When he could still walk, he would walk too fast and his balance was bad, so consequently he fell easily. He endured many surgeries over the years, including a six bypass open heart surgery. He was a real tough guy.We can only imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for our parents to see him walk so straight, tall, and normal in every way when they met him at Heavens Gates, but better yet, imagine the amazement on Bills face when he realized that he could walk without a wheelchair and his hands were no longer curled and crippled. The wonder and awe when he witnessed the gorgeous spectrum of colors in the heavenly gardens, and the most incredible music he ever heard. We can only imagine then, when he saw the beautiful face of Jesus and his host of angels welcoming him with open arms.By Gods wonderful grace and mercy; our complete faith and trust in Jesus; we too will see the new Bill with his new body and mind. We all have lessons to learn from Bill and we will miss his kind and gentle spirit.Bill is survived by his brother Larry (Nell) Watterud of Conrad; sisters Beryl Littlefield and LaVonne (Monty) Gilcher both of Great Falls; three nephews; seven nieces; and several great nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his father Louie Watterud; mother Elvira Sveet; a very special stepfather John Sveet; baby sister Carmen who died at birth; and niece and nephew Brian and Lisa Watterud.God bless his wonderful soul and the sweet memories he left with us.