Recently retired Whitefish Finance Director Mike Eve lost his battle with cancer on Monday.

He died at Kalispell Regional Medical Center following a year-and-a-half-long fight against renal-cell cancer. He was 49.

The mood was somber at Whitefish City Hall this week as the staff mourned the loss of a well-liked colleague.

"He told us he loved working with all the people here," a tearful City Clerk Necile Lorang said.

Eve joined the city staff in May 2000 following a seven-year stint as finance officer for the city of Conrad.

He worked full time, even through his cancer treatment, but retired on Dec. 26, 2008, as his illness worsened.

Former Whitefish City Manager Gary Marks, who worked closely with Eve, made the trip from Ketchum, Idaho, to Kalispell on Friday to be at Eve's bedside.

"I was able to have some last words with him, which I'll always cherish," Marks said. "He was the consummate professional and like a brother to me. I'll sorely miss him."

Eve was named Government Worker of the Year by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce in 2008 and was an active community leader during his time in Whitefish.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 renal-cell carcinoma in summer 2007. A nagging cough drove him to the doctor in late July that year, and a CT scan showed sizable growths on his left kidney and liver, plus numerous nodules on both lungs.

Doctors at the University of Washington hospital removed Eve's kidney, but the growth on his liver was entwined with major blood vessels and was inoperable. They told him his cancer was chronic and incurable.

Nevertheless, Eve remained upbeat, buoyed by support from his wife, Valerie, their son, Dylan, and other family members including a son, Brandon, and his wife, Rhonda Jaraczeski of Great Falls. He underwent extensive treatment after his diagnosis.

During an interview with the Daily Inter Lake in November 2007, Eve said he was heartened by the prayers and support he had gotten from the community.

"You've got to live day by day," he said during the interview. "Now, as long as a guy wakes up and feels OK, it's a good day."

A rosary service will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Whitefish, with a wake at Sherwood Sports Bar & Grille in Whitefish. A memorial Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at St. Charles Church.

The family requests memorials be made to Park Side Federal Credit Union toward Dylan Eve's college education fund. A full obituary is forthcoming in the Daily Inter Lake.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at [email protected]