Lavern Leonard Placzek passed away in the early morning of June 14, 2023, at the age of 90 next to his beloved wife of 28 years, Mary Montana, in Great Falls. Lavern Leonard Placzek was born in Loup City, Nebraska in 1932 into the family of Frank and Clara Placzek. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1950. He had only finished 8th grade, but in the Air Force he acquired his GED. His final posting was Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls. It was in a small dancehall in Belt, Montana that he laid eyes on Barbara Rivera and they were married within a year in November 1954. Two children followed, Brian and Lea.
After his discharge from the Air Force in December 1954, he apprenticed as an electrician with Cascade Electric in 1955, becoming a Journeyman in 1959. He worked as an electrician in construction for 40 years, the last 20 of those years as a foreman at various job sites before retiring in 1995.
Early in their marriage he and Barbara bought a boat. They spent many summer evenings swimming and water skiing. In 1967, they turned a half-finished tar-paper shack near Lincoln into a comfy cabin retreat. There they would explore old mining roads in a ’54 Willys Jeep and see how many head of elk they could count. In later years, Barbara and Vern rode their snowmobiles, playing follow-the-leader with friends through the surrounding woods.
In 1979, Vern and Barbara bought 6 acres near the lake at Canyon Ferry and began building their dream house. For 3 years they lived at Colstrip in a small trailer home while Vern was working on the power plant, but during weekends they made the 11-hour round trip drive to Canyon Ferry to first build a large garage and then the log house. Vern not only wired the house, but also did the plumbing, drywall, and roofing.
Sadly, in 1991, after 36 years of marriage his beloved Barbara died an early death at the age of 52.
Vern found another partner in life, the Western artist, Mary Montana, whom he first met while dancing at the old westside VFW club in Great Falls. They married in 1995 and Mary moved in with him at Canyon Ferry. Vern and Mary both enjoyed attending western art shows and collecting prints. Vern took pride in framing Mary’s paintings, and he built a small gallery on the Canyon Ferry property to display her artwork. They spent many years together at Canyon Ferry, until Vern finally sold the place in 2019, and moved to Great Falls.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Montana Placzek, son, Brian Placzek (Diana) in Seattle; daughter, Lea Tuemer (Avni) in Great Falls; and three grandchildren, Jessica Placzek in San Francisco, Lauren Leung in New York City, and Alex Strom.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the O'Connor Funeral Home website.
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