Dr. James (Jim) Andrew Trudnowski passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, November 23, 2010. He was removing snow from the driveway of the home he loved on Canyon Ferry Lake. His wife Kathleen was with him. <\/p>\n
Jim was born November 13, 1935 in Harlowton, MT to Ted and Marguerite Trudnowski. He spent his childhood years in Harlowton and Lewistown; as a teenager he moved to Helena where he graduated from Cathedral High School in 1953. Overcoming a battle with polio, he became deeply involved with sports, especially basketball, and later in his life started running. <\/p>\n
Jim attended and played basketball at Carroll College graduating in 1957 with a degree in History and a minor in Mathematics. In June of 1958, he married his first wife Lois Pithoud Miles. They had 4 children: Marjorie, Mary, Dan and John. <\/p>\n
Jim followed his passion for coaching and teaching. He began his professional life at Anaconda Central and Great Falls Central High Schools before moving to Helena and continuing his love for coaching and teaching at Carroll College in 1968. During his forty-two years at Carroll, he taught students, coached athletes, started basketball camps, and took on the role of vice president of academic affairs and dean of the college. He impacted many lives not only with his wisdom in the classroom and on the court, but also by guiding young people and his peers with their life decisions. <\/p>\n
In November of 1990 Jim married his wife Kathleen Joyce. In their twenty years together Jim and Kathleen were dedicated parents, grandparents. Together with their deep faith in God and love for each other, he and Kathleen created a beautiful place of solitude and hospitality at their home on Canyon Ferry. There was always plenty on the table from his beautiful garden and from his good luck with a fishing pole. Family, friends and students enjoyed their time there immensely. <\/p>\n
Carroll College was always included when they talked about family. Strong advocates for education, health and sports, they attended almost every game, graduation and wedding of both family members and Carroll students. <\/p>\n
In October of 2010 Jim was acknowledged for a lifetime of dedication to the Carroll athletic community by being presented with the prestigious Warren Nelson award, the highest honor bestowed by Carroll College athletics. He was very humbled and honored to be the recipient of this special recognition. He was a \u201cSaint\u201d that will truly be missed. <\/p>\n
Jim was an avid sportsman. One of his favorite events was preparing for and participating in the Governor\u2019s Cup with his kids. Many happy memories were also made with his sons; hiking the hills and mountains of Ft. Benton searching for that perfect buck. Jim found great peace in the outdoors of Montana; running, hunting, fishing and spending time at the lake with his family and friends. <\/p>\n
He was preceded in death by his father and mother Ted and Marguerite Trudnowski. <\/p>\n
Jim was also very dedicated to his family following very closely the paths their lives took. He is survived by his wife Kathleen Trudnowski; daughters Marjorie (Nick) Masla, Seattle WA; Mary (Kevin) Casey, Rapid City, SD; sons Dan (Diana) Trudnowski, Butte, MT; John (Carolyn) Trudnowski, Butte, MT; their mother Lois Pithoud Miles, Helena MT; twin brother Jerry (Sally) Trudnowski, Spokane WA; brother John (Nancy) Trudnowski, Torrance CA; grandchildren Mary and John Masla; Caitlin, Bridget, Conor and Kevin Casey; Tony (Jenessa), Jake, Anna and Sonya Trudnowski; Tyler and Ryan Trudnowski. <\/p>\n
Please join us in celebrating his life. A Vigil service will be held at the Carroll College PE center on Tuesday November 30, 2010 at 7:00pm. Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday December 1, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. at Cathedral of St. Helena. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com. <\/p>\n
In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to the Trudnowski\/Joyce scholarship fund at Carroll College, a memorial in the name of Jim Trudnowski at Carroll College or a charity of your choice.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/282628_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/698","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=698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}