Will S. Warner, 97

Will Spurgeon Warner was born Feb. 18, 1929, in Manchester, Montana, and passed away on June 4, 2026. He was the oldest of two sons born to Urval and Alice (Nelson) Warner. In 1931, a road construction job in the Nyack area enticed his dad to move the family. When they moved, his dad drove a team of horses and a wagon from Great Falls to Nyack. Two years later, they moved to Columbia Falls.

Will skidded logs with horses in the Crystal Creek area, north of Columbia Falls, when he was 15. In 1949, he bought his first D-8 Caterpillar. He started the Will Warner Logging Company and logged and built roads for the Superior Building Company.

Will and Barbara Larkin were married June 10, 1950. They had two children, Randy and Peggy.

In 1952, they and their first child, Randy, lived in the North Fork in the Coal Creek area in a 16-foot trailer on the logging site. Alongside was an 8-by-16-foot bunkhouse with a potbellied wood stove that heated water to wash clothes in a tub with a scrub board and heated irons to press clothing. From 1952 to 1955, they would move down from the woods only when the snow got too deep. In 1953, their second child, Peggy, was born. In 1955, they moved from the logging camp to permanently live in their home on the road to the Columbia Falls aluminum plant.  

In 1957, they purchased a farm on LaSalle, north of the airport. Will started contracting for F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. in 1964 through the 1970s. He completed his years in the woods building roads and piling brush until 2002.

Will and Barbara divorced in 1974. He married Veva Schmitz in 1978 and divorced in 1999.

He raised cattle for many years and farmed his land, raising hay and grain through his 96th year. Will did not know the meaning of retirement; it was never a word in his vocabulary. The family believes his work ethic was a driving force in his longevity. He loved farming, driving his tractors and selling hay to his many customers.

Will was predeceased by his parents, his son, grandchild, great-grandchild and his sister-in-law. 

He is survived by his brother, Pat Warner; daughter, Peggy and son-in-law, Bill Hoppe; granddaughter, Brandi Fehrenbach; grandsons, Coty Warner (Mindy) and Scott Warner (Jill), along with five great-grandchildren and many extended family members.

There will be a private burial at a later date.

Arrangements are under the direction of Columbia Mortuary.