William E. O\u2019Leary, age 78, of Helena, passed away on Monday, August 16, 2010 at St. Peter\u2019s Hospital. A Vigil Service will be held at 7:00pm, Sunday, August 22, 2010 at the Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, with visitation beginning at Noon until 7:00pm of the same day. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00am, Monday, August 23, 2010 at the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena.
\nBill was born September 30, 1931, in Anaconda, Montana, the eldest son of James O\u2019Leary and Mary P. (Quigley) O\u2019Leary. He was raised in Butte, graduating from Butte Central High School with the class of 1949. Bill, a 1953 graduate of Carroll College in Helena, went on to receive a law degree from the University of Montana in 1960.
\nOn October 9, 1965, Bill and Lucille Morin of Osburn, Idaho were united in marriage, at St. Ann\u2019s Cathedral in Great Falls, Montana. The day began a life long partnership which continued to inspire their children and others until the day of his parting.
\nBill, a member of the Montana and Federal Bar began his career as a trial attorney for the Montana Highway Department for four years before becoming the administrator of the legal division of the Railroad and Public Service Commission in Helena. He resigned as Chief Counsel of the Montana Public Service Commission in April of 1973 to enter private law practice, specializing in transportation law. In 1986, Bill left private practice to join the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. He later transferred to the Montana Department of Labor before retiring in 1993.
\nGrowing up in Butte left an indelible mark on Bill creating memories of a hard working, fun loving mining community. This instilled a strong faith in God and love of family that he carried with him throughout his entire life. Catholic faith and strong Irish traditions guided Bill and have carried through to his children and grandchildren.
\nBill and Lucille welcomed many and all into their home on Geddis Street. The smell of baking bread or homemade spaghetti quickly enveloped any visitors and Irish hospitality was in full swing. Bill\u2019s insight, quick wit and knack for story telling entertained many a friend around the kitchen table late into the night. He liked nothing more than a house full of people, good food and good stories flowing.
\nHis family fondly remembers many camping trips and days spent driving the roads less traveled in the high mountains of Montana. In Bill\u2019s eyes, sitting around a campfire after a day of huckleberry picking just couldn\u2019t get any better. At home, Bill enjoyed tending to his rose garden and many visitors left with roses in hand. The addition of grandchildren in his life added to his many blessings. He was proud of all of them, enjoyed watching them grow and prayed for them daily. His sense of humor and advice to \u201coffer it up\u201d or \u201ckeep the faith\u201d will continue to shape their futures.
\nBill was preceded in death by his parents James and Mary O\u2019Leary.
\nSurvivors include his wife, Lucille, of Helena; his sons Daniel and fianc\u00e9 Cindi and his daughter, Katie all of Seattle, Washington; Michael and his wife Angela and her son Cody of Naples, Florida; his daughters Kathleen Zander and her daughters Jessica, Toriana and Kendra all of Glendive, Montana; Maureen Blake and her husband Emmett and their children Colleen, Cian and Gavin all of West Seattle, Washington; Janet Johnson and her husband Mark and their children Jack and Thomas of Shanghai China; his sister Margaret Wolpert and her husband Joe of Anaconda, Montana; his brothers James O\u2019Leary and his wife Marie of Rochester, New York and Joseph O\u2019Leary of Helena; and many loved nieces, nephews and cousins. <\/p>\n
Memorials may be sent to Hospice of St. Peter\u2019s, 2475 Broadway, Helena MT 59601, in honor of the great care they provided or the Cathedral of St. Helena, 530 N Ewing, Helena, MT 59601. <\/p>\n","photo":false,"youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/413","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=413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}