Peter Cornelius DeWit Jr.

– Peter Cornelius DeWit Jr. passed away Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in the home he loved with the family he loved. He was born in Missoula to Peter and Ethel DeWit on Oct. 13, 1941. Growing up in Bonner, childhood summers at the Swan homestead, hiking into Cold Lakes with brother Wiley, hunting and building the Seeley Lake cabin with his dad were cherished memories. He explored through the mountains with his friends, found and exploded dynamite, fished rivers and lakes, was thrown from a horse, hunted gophers in fields and rats in mine shafts, worked summers on farms. He was tall and loved basketball, but his knees failed early and his parents bought him a trumpet to reset his focus. Pete had wonderful siblings, Eleanor, Wiley, Marie and Johanna (baby sister Shawnee), loving friends for life. In high school he was active in DeMolay and all school bands.

After graduation from Missoula County High in 1959 and a year earning college money at the Bonner mill, Pete attended Montana State College (now MSU) in Bozeman, graduating with an engineering degree in 1965. Summers were spent working on the new construction of Interstate 90 out of Missoula. His first career choice had been the military and flying jets. He was in the Air Force ROTC program at MSC, had qualified for pilot training and was about to start that training when a serious knee injury disqualified him for service, a great disappointment. Pete was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the award winning ROTC drill team through which he met future wife Carol Stevenson. They dated through college and were married in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 29, 1964, a beautiful evening in every way. It was his first trip to Texas and 70 degree December temperatures tricked him into thinking he wanted to live there. He accepted a job for two years in Dallas, where their first son Tim was born, and two years in Houston. He worked as a fire protection engineer, gaining experience with diverse companies and establishing the safety engineering foundation that helped shape his career.

Pete soon learned Texas summers were brutal and where were the mountains, elk, trout? He had left Montana, but Montana wouldn't leave him. The tipping point came when he heard an elk bugle on television, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he knew he had to make his way back. A transfer to the northwest was requested and Seattle became home in 1969. During their four years there, the family grew to include sons Case and Jeremy. Next came Portland, lovely city, mountains, beautiful rivers (nearly drowned in one, but survived to live 41 more years), yet Pete still felt the Montana pull. That longed for return became possible in 1977 and he brought his family home to the Missoula he loved.

The remainder of Pete's career was in commercial insurance sales, with many clients and friends in the logging and wood products industry. He loved working with those industrious folks who also knew how to play. And they certainly did play, from logging conventions to "stress management seminars", accessible by horse, fish on the menu, beer in the coolers, work left far behind. But important work was happening too, including a special venture in the 1990s when Pete and a partner worked with a group of loggers to form their own workers compensation insurance company, a success for the loggers and career highlight for Pete. He retired from Western States Insurance in 2006.

Pete was dedicated to community service. He served on the Target Range school board, church counsels, other committees, counsels and boards, including service on the Montana Wood Products Association Board and the advisory board for the School of Education at the University of Montana. He served in all offices of Downtown Lion's Club and supported or spearheaded community wide fund raisers, from Christmas tree sales to dinner auctions, always generous with his time and resources. Following his father, he was past master in the Missoula Masonic Lodge 13 and 33rd degree member of the Western Montana Scottish Rite. Pete served many years with the Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation which funds the RiteCare Clinic at UM. He presented the idea of creating the Missoula clinic to the university and together they brought it to fruition in 1998. It has grown into an extraordinary service. Recently the clinic was renamed the DeWit RiteCare Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic to recognize his vision, dedication and service. He privately helped many others in a variety of meaningful ways.

Pete, his boys and friends, especially Bob Kaufman, were in the mountains as soon as the elk bugled in the fall and fished the rivers when waters cleared in the spring, Smith River floats always spectacular. They hiked or rode Carol's dad's horses to remote lakes in the summer and fall, Indian Creek a favored destination. There were sports, school activities, extended family gatherings and special events for the young family and later came travel with Carol and unforgettable outdoor adventures near home, in Alaska or Canada with their grown sons. Case was relentless in planning trips into the wild with his dad, with varying configurations of backpacks, bows, rifles, fishing rods, boats, tents and horses, some involving hair raising flights, wild terrain, exhaustion and near hypothermia. Top picks included elk in Utah, goats and salmon in Alaska and a memorable British Columbia moose adventure. The mission was about animals or fish, but the payoff was time spent together experiencing the majesty and spirituality of nature.

Then came those amazing grandchildren. They adored Gramps, Papa, Grampsy and he them, each uniquely special to him. When not with them on "cousinfest" adventures or following the many athletic, musical and academic achievements of those much loved grands, Pete and Carol continued traveling America and beyond. Egypt, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland and the Maritimes in autumn were among his favorites and Disneyworld of course. He would go anywhere with her, everything always better when together. But Pete's declining health finally kept them at home in his beautiful Montana, the best place anyway, with his mountain view, books, iPad, the coming and going of the kids, breakfasts with his sisters, coffee with the 59ers and memories of life well lived. Strengthened by family and sustained with loving care, Pete pushed through his difficult seven year pulmonary fibrosis struggle with dignity and determination, willing himself to stay engaged in life as much and as long as possible, his strong quiet faith a constant comfort. He had earned every moment of his bonus 41 years, touched many lives with his generous heart and left an enduring legacy of family and service.

Pete's memorial service will be at 11 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 25, at Garden City Funeral Home.

Pete is survived by his wife of 51 years, Carol; sons, Jeremy (Theresa) of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Case (Brenda) of Missoula, Tim (Chelsea) of Seattle; grandchildren, Kelsey, Kayla, Brian, Ashley, Kacee, Jessica, Kiana; sister Johanna/Shawnee (Glen) Wohl of Missoula; brother Wiley (Julia) Baldwin of Waxhaw, North Carolina; Paula DeWit; Megan Tollackson; many nieces, nephews. He was preceded by his parents and sisters, Eleanor and Marie. His memory may be honored with donations to the DeWit RiteCare Clinic, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812.
Read Peter DeWit Jr.'s Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.