Donald Walter Fromm, aged 97, of Great Falls, Montana passed away peacefully on Wednesday January 29, 2025, at Beehive Maple residential care facility. He was born on November 3, 1927, in Gilfillian, Minnesota to Felix and Mary Fromm.
Don grew up on and worked the family farm in Minnesota along with his 3 brothers and 4 sisters. At age 19, he joined the Navy and became a medical corpsman, stationed on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana and San Diego, California. After his service, he returned to Minnesota where he worked various jobs including that of a bartender. A pretty schoolteacher named Beryle Meilander would stop by the bar on her way home to have a beer and flirt with the handsome Don.
Don and Beryle married in 1951, and after a short time in California moved to Montana to start and have a grand life and 72 years together. Don and Beryle worked at various ranches in Montana for a few years as cowboy and cook and finally settled in Conrad where they had five children, Lynn, Steve, Kelly, Lisa, and Laura. Don worked as a tractor mechanic in Conrad for many years and as a milkman for a few more.
In 1967, Don moved his family to Great Falls to start a new job as a mechanic at AC Supply. Don and Beryle settled into their lives raising their children and enjoying all that comes with it. Don continued to move up in the world of farm implements and joined a new start-up from Fargo, Steiger Tractor. Don started as a mechanic, servicing the new tractors on-site. As he excelled in his job, he trained other mechanics and moved up to work as a district manager, and later sales manager, ultimately winning salesman of the year in 1979.
Don and Beryle bought a cabin in Neihart as a quiet get-away from the job and stress. When they retired in 1985, they began to snowbird between Neihart in the summer and Arizona in the winter. They enjoyed travelling between places, staying with their children from Great Falls to Spokane, Washington to Seattle on the way down and back. In Mesa, they enjoyed a very busy life, with Don involved in bowling, pool, and shuffleboard leagues. While there he learned to paint, his subject matter landscapes, and clowns or anything you requested. Don and Beryle returned to Great Falls during the 2020 pandemic and remained there near their children until their passing.
Don is survived by his sisters, Dede Wohnoutka and Ruth Warne; brothers, Tom and Doug Fromm; daughter, Lynn Fromm; son, Steve (Therena) Fromm; son, Kelly (Pamela) Fromm; daughter, Lisa Fromm Maxwell; daughter, Laura Fromm; 10 grandchildren, Zackery Fromm, Alexa (Kjell) Olson, Taylee (Cory) Schlauch, Tyler Fromm, Colt Tronson, McKenna Fromm, Brandon Fromm, Stephanie (Bryan) Swann, Dylan Maxwell, and Lane (Cindy) Maxwell; and 5 great-grandchildren, Mila and Walker Schlauch, Sayer and Sutton Olson, and Palmer Maxwell.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
