Alfred William Waite

Alfred W Waite, 91 went to be with Mom on December 28, 2017. He was born on December 25, 1926 in Saco, MT to Horace and Henrietta (Niles) Waite. He lost his Mother at age 4 and he and his sister Lois were raised by his Grandparents Harry and Gertrude Niles. Dad attended school in Saco and joined the Army in March of 1945 and was honorably discharged as Private First Class on his birthday in 1946. Dad was proud to have served his country and through his lifetime you could see it in how he displayed items in his garage and on his flagpole. When he returned, he worked for the US Forest Service for several months before finding a job in the Signal Department for the Great Northern Railroad. Finally in 1953 Dad went to work for Mountain States Telecom until his retirement in 1983. Alfred married Audrey White on January 20, 1953 in Fort Benton, MT. They moved frequently with Alfred’s Ma Bell job. From Fort Benton to Malta, Whitefish and Havre, Kalispell to Cut Bank and finally to Great Falls. Dad was a member of the Eagles Auxilary, Veterans of Foreign War, American Legion and the Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. He loved animals, especially his best friend Dasher. You could find him out in the yard filling the bird feeders and giving the squirrels peanuts. Dad was a prankster, he was always putting stickers on our vehicles or nuts and bolts in our purse so when you got home you would find them and think of him. You knew you were loved if Dad was teasing you. If you wanted a vehicle he would tell you to get out there and work for it. Dad and Mom had seven kids, daughters: Julie (Rodney Sr.) Kriedeman of Helena, Wanda (Jim) Banks and Norma of Great Falls, sons: Duane (Lynett), Ronald (Berta) and Timothy all of Great Falls and Alvin (Lue) of Havre. Dad was preceded in death by his wife Audrey, his daughter Wanda, son-in-law Rodney Kriedeman Sr., sister-in-law Cecilia Jeppesen and brother-in-law Jerry White. Dad is survived by his children Julie, Duane, Alvin, Ronald, Norma and Tim. Grandchildren: Rodney Kriedeman Jr.; Dustin Steele, Derrick (Nicole) Waite, Leann (Trent Brown) Waite; Nikole (Nick Rosman) Waite, Tiana (Justin) Boyce; Geneva (Mike) Joseph, Kayce (James Kruger) Waite, Stacey (Spencer) Buckman; Tyler (Taylor Hele) Waite; Jennifer (Chris) Upchurch and James (Casie) Banks. Great Grandchildren: Paige (Joshua) Schleining and Chase Kriedeman; Thomas Steele, Cain and Kairi Waite; Taivin Rosman and Tristan Friede and Madison Boyce; Allisyn Lamere and Ashley and Aaron Joseph; Jordan, Alexandra and Catalina Upchurch and Brooke, Kayleigh and Aria Banks, great-great grandchildren: Ellee and Piper Schleining,plus two more great-great granddaughters arriving in January and February of 2018. Alfred’s sister Lois Shore, niece Kathy Shore, and nephew Harry Shore of Polson and sisters and brothers-in-law: Donna Minnick, Herb White, James White, Carl White, Rose Gehl, Mary Vollmar, Leona Peske and Eddy White, as well as many nieces and nephews. Alfred was also a Dad to many of the neighborhood kids through the years, Doreen & Russ, Bubba, Della & Vic, Dennis and Mike to name a few. If you spent the night outside in his yard in a sleeping bag and you were sleeping when he was headed to work in the morning you might be awakened by the sprinklers being turned on. A special thank you to all of you for being there with us this week. A celebration of life will be held when the weather warms up. A memorial fund has not been set up yet due to the holiday. Cards of condolence may be sent to PO Box 667, Havre, MT 59501.