Clare Hafferman, 84, of Kalispell

Barbara (Clare) Belshaw Hafferman, 84, of Kalispell passed away at her home on Sept. 30, 2014. Her husband Bob and her daughter-in-law Kathy were with her when she passed.  

Clare was born on Jan. 30, 1930, in Bozeman to George and Judith Belshaw. Clare was the daughter of pioneers from the Oregon Trail (Belshaw’s) and a Bozeman Trail (Murphy).

Clare lived in Bozeman and was raised on a small farm along with siblings: Bruce, MacGregor, Bernice (Bee), Judy and Molly. Clare spoke often of her two grandmothers, grandma Belshaw, from whom she inherited her thrift, and grandma Murphy, who instilled in her the Irish traits.  

Clare graduated from Holy Rosary High School in 1948. She attended Montana State College, where she met her companion-for-life, Bob. They were married in October of 1952 and were together forever. In 1954, Bob graduated from Montana State College. They followed Bob’s work to Los Angeles, with their new son Daniel and then to Salt Lake City where Kurt was born.

When Bob’s dad passed away in 1956, Bob needed to move home and he took a job back in their beloved Montana working as the National Park Service’s civil engineer in Glacier Park. During that time daughter Great was born in Kalispell.

In 1966, Bob and Clare settled into Libby, where Bob went to work for St. Regis Paper Company. Dan, Kurt and Greta all graduated as Libby Loggers and still call Libby home.

Clare went to work in Libby when all of the kids were in high school and started as a waitress at the Caboose. She and Bob ran the Coffee Corner, and she was the secretary of the Libby Chamber of Commerce. She helped organized President Ford’s dedication of the Libby Dam, and she worked for Mike Cuffe at The Western News.  

Bob and Clare started Koocanusa Marina in the late 1970’s. They moved to Kalispell in 1980, where she and Bob lived for the rest of Clare’s life.

Clare is survived by her loving husband Bob, her son Dan and his wife Marcy and son Kurtis and his wife Kathy, all from Kalispell; her daughter Greta Chapman and her husband Harry Chapman of Rapid City, S.D.

Her grandchildren are Dan’s children Jason, Nathan and Jennifer; Kurt’s children Marcus, Eric and Rebecca; and Great’s sons Sam and Max. The absolute light of her life was her great-granddaughter Jaden.

She is also survived by her brother Bruce, and Greg and her sister Bee, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.