Kathleen “Kathy” Marie Bleile

Kathleen “Kathy” Marie Bleile

Sept. 5, 1947 

– Sept. 8, 2025

In the early hours of Monday, September 8, 2025, after a courageous battle with dementia, our beloved Mom, Kathy, peacefully took her last breath and earned her well-deserved angel wings. “Grammie” was surrounded by tears, laughter, reminiscing, singing, and prayers with her children, Shelly and Gabe (son-in-law), Shawn and Lisa (daughter-in-law), and her grandchildren Jayson, Rynna, Owen, Hayden, and Addison. Loving messages also came from Keenan (Marissa) and Griffen (Rosie).

Just days before, Kathy celebrated her birthday on September 5. Though many of us thought she might be the rare soul to return to Heaven on the same day she was born, in true Kathy fashion she did things her own way—waiting until the Bobcat Gold Rush game was over and taking the couple of days to accept the double overtime loss, before climbing the golden stairway to her Lord and Savior. We can only imagine the joyous reunion she had at Heaven’s gates, where her beloved John, family, and friends surely welcomed her with open arms.

Kathy was born on September 5, 1947, in Anaconda, the youngest of six children of John J. and Irene R. Kriskovich. With siblings spanning 20 years, she grew up not only as a sister but also as an aunt close in age to many nieces and nephews, forming unique bonds that only Anaconda families can truly appreciate. She attended Anaconda Central Grade School and High School, graduating with the class of 1965. Kathy was always proud of her Catholic education and the lifelong friendships she built, especially with her sister Rosalie, with whom she shared an inseparable bond. She and Rosalie moved to Great Falls for a time after graduation; however, Anaconda’s roots eventually drew them back home.

Kathy began her career in the medical field at just 18 years old, working for Dr. Kargacin. She later became a phone operator at Warm Springs and went on to dedicate more than 40 years to Anaconda Community Hospital and Dr. Garrels’ office as an insurance clerk and office manager. Along the way, she formed countless treasured friendships with coworkers who became like family.

Through her friend Peggy Buettner Simkins, Kathy met the love of her life, John Bleile. At Frank and Cookie Bizjak’s wedding reception in 1967, John proposed, and on July 13, 1968, they were married at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Anaconda. Together they built a life filled with love, faith, and devotion.

In May 1969, they welcomed their daughter Michele Kathleen (Shelly), followed by their son Shawn Patrick in November 1970. Kathy loved being a mother above all else, cheering from the car, honking the horn or the from the bleachers, teaching her children faith and resilience, and holding her family at the center of everything she did. 

When the smelter closed and John had to travel for work, Kathy held down the fort at home, often donning her infamous purple muumuu while chauffeuring kids at all hours.

After John’s passing in 2021, Kathy moved to Belgrade to live with Shelly and Gabe. Though dementia took much from her, it never stopped her family from creating memories together—baking banana chocolate chip cookies, povitica, traveling, attending Bobcat football and basketball games, Addi’s softball games, playing bingo, visiting church to see Father Leo, camping, enjoying side-by-side rides and more than anything special moments with Rynna and Jayson who without fail came to visit often with a treat. She was never without a purse full of Jolly Ranchers and Werther’s candies, and a trip to Dairy Queen for a strawberry shake or sundae was always a favorite outing.

Kathy found peace in simple joys—watching white puffy clouds drift by, admiring airplanes in the sky, or strolling among the flowers in the backyard each spring with Shelly. These quiet moments were as much a part of her as her big, generous heart.

She was deeply proud of her Anaconda roots, her 40 years of work at Community Hospital, her Bobcat fandom, and the countless friendships she nurtured along the way. Her love for her sister Rosalie, her nieces and nephews, and her lifelong friends was boundless, and she would want each of you to know how much you meant to her.

Kathy’s life will be celebrated at Holy Family Catholic Church in Anaconda. A memorial vigil will be held Friday, October 3, with visitation at 5:00 p.m. and vigil beginning at 6:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Saturday, October 4, at 10:30 a.m., with interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery and a luncheon at Holy Family afterward.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association (donation page on their website), Spring Creek Inn Memory Care; 1641 Hunters Way, Bozeman, MT  59718, or Stillwater Hospice, 233 Edelweiss Cr. Unit 11, Bozeman, MT 59718.

Please visit longfellowfinneganriddle.com to offer condolences to the family or to share a memory of Kathy.