Arthur Campbell McMordie was born on June 29, 1931 to parents Arthur Campbell McMordie, Sr. and Josephine Geraldine (Belcher) McMordie in Watsonville, Calif., where he grew up with his five sisters and two brothers.
He left us on the May 4, 2007.
He attended Larkinsville school and worked in the woodshop until its closure in 1946. In 1950, he moved to Point Barrow Naval Facility in Alaska to cook. In 1952, he went back to California to help raise his family. He was a member of the Teamsters, working as a driver in California and Missouri until he moved to Montana in 1969, where he spent most of his time working as a carpenter foreman.
He married Karen Hutchison in 1962 and had four children. He was a proud member of the Carpenters union through the building of power plants 1,2,3 and 4 in Colstrip, Mont. He enjoyed fishing, reading and watching racing and old westerns.
His children knew him as a silent giant and as a man of integrity and independence, who loved his life to be simple and private. Arthur was also a generous man who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was a devoted grandfather and was proud of his family roots. He was loved by many and will be missed.
He was proceeded in death by his father and mother, sisters Elsie Villanpando and Virginia Sanches.
Surviving family members include daughters and sons-in-law Angie and Bill Brickey of Arlington, Wash., and Wendy and Steve Heidt of Chandler, Ariz.; sons and daughters-in-law Mike and Robi McMordie of Reno, Nev., and Patrick and Candy McMordie of Conner, Mont.; sisters Marjorie Phipps, Jane Hernandez, Helen Griggs; and brothers Robert McMordie and William McMordie. Also surviving are 10 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and numerous nieces and nephews.
On June 29, 2007, his ashes will be spread in the mountains of the Bitterroot Valley of Montana where he loved to take long drives. Point of contact will be his son Patrick McMordie, 406-821-0229 (leave message), Box 671 Darby, MT 59829.