Bruce A. Measure, 64, died peacefully early Monday morning, June 6, 2016, with family by his side in Kalispell. He was a loving father, grandfather, husband, partner, brother, uncle and friend. Bruce also was a skilled attorney and speaker, an expert on energy and water resources, a brilliant thinker and an avid politician.

Bruce was born Aug. 14, 1951, at Kalispell General Hospital, fourth child to Ambrose and Laura Jo Measure. He attended St. Matthew’s grade school and graduated from Flathead High School in 1969. He served in the U.S. military from 1971 to 1973 as a military policeman. He earned a two-year degree in forestry and an undergraduate degree in political science and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana in Missoula where he was elected president of his law school class.

Bruce worked as forest resource manager for the Chippewa Cree tribe in Box Elder in 1979-80 and assistant forest manager for Plum Creek Timber Company from 1980 to 1985. He practiced law with his father, Ambrose, at the law offices of Ambrose Measure and after his father’s death as a partner in the firm of Measure, Sampsell, Sullivan and O’Brien.

Bruce’s father Ambrose believed we all owe a debt to our community and the more we are given the larger the debt. Bruce practiced this philosophy with enthusiasm and generosity. He was one of a group of visionaries who looked at the abandoned rail lines in the Flathead Valley and saw, instead of rusted tracks and rotten ties, the foundation for miles and miles of pathways for hiking, biking, jogging, walking and snowshoeing. Bruce did all the legal work for the original organization which achieved phenomenal success as Rails to Trails of Northwest Montana and currently, and still growing, miles and miles of year-round recreational trails.

Bruce was elected and served one term in the 52nd State Legislative Assembly representing House District 6. He was a member of the Kalispell City Government Study Commission in 1995-96 and hearing officer and mediator for the Montana Office of Public Instruction from 1990-2001. He was very proud when he was admitted to practice before Montana State Courts in 1988.

Always interested and active in resource management, Bruce served on the Flathead Electric Coop board of trustees from 2002-2003 and as president in 2004. He also served as the representative from Flathead Electric to the statewide cooperative association. In 2004, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer appointed Bruce to be one of two Montana representatives to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council where he served two four-year terms including two years as vice chairman and two as chair of the council. At the time of his death Bruce was again a member of the Flathead Electric Coop board and had recently served as board president. As always, a primary focus for Bruce was to reflect and champion the interests and needs of western Montana.

However there is no doubt that his greatest achievement was his son Buckthorne, who with his wife and two children, was indeed the light of his life. Together they hiked every trail, floated every river, the rougher the better, skied Big Mountain, Blacktail and thousands of miles of cross country trails. He set the bar for his younger nieces and nephews in every outdoor activity.

Bruce worked very hard but he also loved to play music. He had a beautiful voice and for many years played his guitar and sang with friends. He happily bragged about the night he caught a few riffs with Gordon Lightfoot in some out of the way bar in Alberta. Bruce loved to play tennis and Friday afternoons with the Kennel Club were the highlights of his week. He also could be found attending his grandchildren’s many academic and athletic events.

Bruce is survived by his son Buckthorne, wife Tara and their two children, Rhett and Maggie; his former wife Ann Van Twest (mother Winifred Storli); brothers Christopher Van Twest (Joan Campbell), Grimm Storli and Trond (Katy) Storli; partner Barbara Varnum, her daughter Katie (Ryan) Leahy and children Brayden and Keely and Michelle Lloyd and son Chance; sister Loraine Measure and her children Daren (Jody) Bundrock and son Silas, Steve (Tamera) Bundrock and sons Atle and Ayrton and Lori Bundrock (Michelle Douglas) and son Clay; sister Suzanne O’Connor and daughter Erin and son Scott O’Connor and his sons Shacotta and Jack; brother Edward Measure (Rorie) and sons Alexander and Eric. Bruce is also survived by his aunt, Alice Forhan, cousins and by hundreds of other friends and acquaintances, all of which loved him and will miss him terribly.

Funeral services for Bruce Measure will be held at 2 p.m. on July 1 at Risen Christ Church in Evergreen. A celebration of Bruce’s life, with food and fun will be held at 3 p.m. on July 2 at the Lee Proctor residence. The Proctor residence is located just behind St. John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork. Maps and driving directions will be available at the funeral service.

Memorials can be made to the Rails to Trails of Northwest Montana, Glacier Park Conservancy and the Flathead Valley Community College Scholarship Fund.