Harry Lee Siebert

Harry Lee Siebert, 89, passed away peacefully at his home in Missoula, Montana on October 24, 2021, after a long illness.

Harry was born in Alamota, Kansas on September 19, 1932. In 1949, he graduated in a class of 16 from high school in Sand Fork, West Virginia.
From 1952 to 1955 he worked seasonally in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. In 1955 he earned a BS in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he was a member of Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was also a member of the West Virginia Society of Professional Engineers.

Harry and Sue (Haynes) were married in Morgantown on September 3, 1955.
Harry then spent two years in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (11th Engineering Battalion). During this time he was stationed in Korea, where he first commanded the 3rd platoon and then Company “C”.
For this service, he received a Letter of Commendation in which the word “superior” occurs three times, and which specifically compliments his “enthusiasm, self-confidence, and initiative”.

From 1957 until his retirement in 1992, Harry worked for the United States Forest Service, first as a civil engineer and later as an advisor, coordinator, planner, and program manager. His work took him and his growing family to the Monongahela National Forest, the Forest Service Regional Office in Philadelphia, the Payette National Forest in Idaho, the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah (where he worked with the National Park Service on the establishment of Canyonlands National Park near Moab), the Lake Tahoe Basin, and the Forest Service Regional Office in Missoula.

In 1978, Harry was appointed to the Missoula City Zoning Commission (later the Missoula County and City Planning Board), where he served for four years and was chairman for one year.

In 1988, Harry was appointed to the board of the Missoula Urban Transportation District, where he served for three years and was Director for one year; he received an award “in appreciation of meritorious service” from the District.

In 1989, Harry received a Regional Forester’s Special Achievement Award “for special assistance in facilitating regional leadership meetings”.

In 1990, during his time as a Supervisory General Engineer with the Forest Service, he received an award for “outstanding responsiveness in accomplishing assignments and maintaining an excellent positive attitude”.

After retirement, Harry and Sue traveled all over the United States, as well as to France, Tanzania, Peru and Bolivia, and New Zealand. They continued to enjoy monthly dinners with their friends in the “progressive dinner group”. Before his final illness, Harry remained active in volunteer work in the Missoula community, and was nominated as Missoula County Senior of the Year by Missoula Aging Services.

Harry was preceded in death by his wife Sue, their daughter Jean Siebert, and his sisters Matilda Haas, Mildred Hedrick, and Ruth Lindsay. He is survived by his and Sue’s daughter Janet Siebert and son-in-law Wes Munsil of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, two step-grandchildren and their spouses, and five step-great-grandchildren.

A memorial celebration will be held at the State Veterans Cemetery in Missoula on Friday, April 22, 2022, at 1 p.m., immediately followed by a reception at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 Brooks Street.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either Missoula Aging Services or Five Valleys Land Trust.

Arrangements are under the care of Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula.