William (Bill) Efinger 82, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2026, at his home in Helena, Montana, surrounded by his wife of 62 years and their three children.<\/p>\n
Bill was born on March 4, 1943, in Madison, Wisconsin. He later made his home in Rapid City, South Dakota, and received his degree from University of South Dakota.\u00a0 He met Beverly Lone, on a blind date, in 1962, and she became his bride in 1963. Together, they shared more than six decades of marriage and raised three wonderful children (Rob, Niki, and Kelly), and began building a life centered on love, fun, faith, and family.<\/p>\n
Bill was a devoted husband, father, and provider. He worked throughout his life, beginning on the management team with Sears Roebuck, then with Farah clothing, and later promoting Wrangler Sales in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, North and South Dakota.\u00a0 In his 28 years, Bill pioneered and introduced the Wrangler brand to these regions. He was known for his integrity, strong work ethic, and genuine care for people.<\/p>\n
In 1977, Bill and Bev moved their family to Polson, Montana.\u00a0 Flathead Lake offered so many things for Bill (and family). He delighted in taking his sailboat out for sunset sails, going fishing, or just pulling his kids (and family\/ friends) behind his ski boat. Bill loved watching his kids grow up in such a beautiful vacation destination and noted his time at Flathead Lake as some of the best moments. The family continued taking annual trips to Flathead every summer after they moved to Helena.\u00a0 This was always a highlight of the year for the whole family.<\/p>\n
His spiritual journey began with a Cursillo in Laurel Montana in 1975 where he met Jesus.\u00a0 From that day forward, life began to transform.\u00a0 Bill had a deep love for God\u2019s Word and studied the Bible faithfully. His daily journals are a treasured legacy for his family.\u00a0 After retiring at age 55, he felt called to international missions.\u00a0 He and Bev traveled to Kona Hawaii YWAM (Youth with a Mission) for training.\u00a0 God changed their lives through reaching out to people throughout the world in the name of Jesus.\u00a0 Bill was a much-loved leader on many outreaches and schools.\u00a0 Fun facts Bill smuggled bibles into China, he went with a prayer team into North Korea, he was asked to eat sheep head in Kyrgyzstan and saw a blind man receive his sight after prayer in Fiji.<\/p>\n
Bill loved the outdoors and found great joy hunting and fishing in Montana\u2019s beautiful landscapes. He had a special relationship with his son, Rob and had many adventures in the outdoors together.\u00a0 He also shared this joy with his grandchildren and great grandchildren. \u00a0He had a lifelong passion for golf, which he enjoyed with friends in later years in Arizona.\u00a0 His family was his greatest treasure, and he dedicated his life to caring for and supporting them.<\/p>\n
Known for his great sense of humor, Bill had a way of making everyone feel special and valued. \u201cI think you are AWESOME!\u201d is how he greeted and left every grandchild.\u00a0 His laughter, warmth, and gentle spirit is remembered by his family.\u00a0 He leaves behind a legacy of faith, love, and unwavering devotion to God and family.<\/p>\n
Bill is survived by his wife Bev of almost 63 years, son Robert, daughters Niki Amo and Kelly Fischer (Matthew), ten grandchildren (Jessa Larson, Karlie Efinger, Zach Amo, Ryann Efinger, Hannah Barnes, Jacob Amo, Grace Fischer, Sarah Fischer, Gabe Fischer, and Ellie Fischer), five great grandchildren (Taysom, Emyrson, and Slade Larson, River Amo, and Archer Amo.) His brother Don Efinger (Marilyn),\u00a0Sister Susan Martin (Bill), his brother-in-law Roger Lone (Patt), and several loved nieces and nephews.\u00a0 As well as friends here and around the world that were like family.<\/p>\n
He is preceded in death by his parents:\u00a0 Don and Nancy Efinger, his in-laws Orville and Margie Lone, brother-in-law Jeffery Lone, son-in-law Kenneth Amo.<\/p>\n
Bill\u2019s life was a beautiful testimony of faith, service, and love. Though he will be deeply missed, we rejoice knowing he is now home with his Savior, hearing the words, \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n A Celebration of Life will be held on May 1, 2026, at 1:00, Echo Church (2210 Dodge Ave.) in Helena Montana, followed by desserts and a time to share stories and memories.<\/p>\n In lieu of flowers, a memorial can be made to the school building project for village children at YWAM Togo in honor of Bill.\u00a0 A check can be mailed to the University of the Nations, Kona to the address below. \u00a0 Include on a separate note<\/u>: \u201cIn Memory of Bill Efinger; for YWAM Togo.\u00a0University of the Nations Kona, 75-5851 Kuakini HWY. #256\u00a0Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i 96740<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bill-Efinger.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","service_status":"public","event_title1":"Celebration of His Life","event_date1":"2026-05-01","start_time1":"1:00 p.m.","end_time1":"","location1":"Echo Church","address1":"2210 Dodge Ave.","city1":"Helena","state1":"Montana","zipcode1":"59601","event_title2":"Social Gathering","event_date2":"2026-05-01","start_time2":"Following the service","end_time2":"","location2":"Echo Church","address2":"2210 Dodge Ave.","city2":"Helena","state2":"Montana","zipcode2":"59601","event_title3":"","event_date3":"","start_time3":"","end_time3":"","location3":"","address3":"","city3":"","state3":"","zipcode3":"","event_title4":"","event_date4":"","start_time4":"","end_time4":"","location4":"","address4":"","city4":"","state4":"","zipcode4":"","event_title5":"","event_date5":"","start_time5":"","end_time5":"","location5":"","address5":"","city5":"","state5":"","zipcode5":"","event_title6":"","event_date":"","start_time6":"","end_time6":"","location6":"","address6":"","city6":"","state6":"","zipcode6":"","event_title7":"","event_date7":"","start_time7":"","end_time7":"","location7":"","address7":"","city7":"","state7":"","zipcode7":"","event_title8":"","event_date8":"","start_time8":"","end_time8":"","location8":"","address8":"","city8":"","state8":"","zipcode8":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/32495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}