Dale Chadwick Deines

Early in the morning on October 25, 2016 God said "come home" to Dale Chadwick Deines, 72, of Billings, after a year of slowly progressing cancers.

Dale was born on Sept. 3, 1944, in Billings, to Alex and Irene Deines. The first four years of his life were spent on a farm at Crow Agency. In 1948, his family moved to Pryor Creek, where he helped farm and raise pigs, doing chores before and after school. He often said, "Kids nowadays do not know what real hard work is."

While at Pryor, Dale attended Morin and Coburn Grade School, Lockwood Junior High. He graduated from Billings Senior in 1962. He was on the varsity wrestling team. During his senior year, he won third place at the state wrestling meet. After school, he worked at Wilcoxson's Ice Cream and, on the weekends, he worked on the farm. He showed hogs in 4-H. His parents were involved with the Billings Quadrille, which put on performances of square dancing with horses. The family rode in the National Saddle Clubs Association and the sport of O-Mok-See, where they won several trophies in pole bending and barrel racing.

In June of 1962, Dale joined the Marine Corp, receiving his six month boot camp training in San Diego. He was in the Reserve for another seven years. He went to Eastern Montana College for a year and then worked for the Western Sugar Factory for a year. He then moved to Torrance, Calif., where he was employed by Farmers Brothers Coffee.

On June 18, 1965, Dale married Sondra Orr in Idaho. They lived in California for a year before returning to Billings to apprentice with the Plumber and Pipefitters Local 30 Union, where he was a proud member for 49 years. They were involved with Billings Bible Church and raised Arabian horses. They had two daughters, Evanne Rae and Ronda Lee. After 11 years of marriage, they were divorced but remained friends.

In his fourth year apprentice class in 1972, he won the MT State Apprenticeship contest in welding, brazing and soldering. He then represented Montana at Purdue University national contest. He received his journeyman license in 1972. He was an exceptionally skilled craftsman. He was generous with his skills and knowledge. He would tell people often, "Don't be so stupid!"

Dale was a pipefitter for 37 years, retiring in 2004 at the age of 60. He worked for Bechtel Construction; the nuclear plant in Pasco, Wash.; Exxon; Conoco; Cenex; Colstrip Power; and for Star Service. He enjoyed going camping, fishing and maintaining his rentals.

Dale met the love of his life, Kathy Palmer, in 1998 through a mutual friend. Dale had a routine. He would drink 20 cups of coffee every morning. Read the newspaper and play Sudoku. Kathy called him at 9:00 each morning, then Evanne would call then Scott Collins. In the afternoon, he would pick Kathy up from work and spend time with her until around 9:00. On Fridays, Kathy and he would meet their friends at The Wheel on Minnesota. When The Wheel closed, they all met at Monte Carlo. On Saturdays, the two of them would often eat at the Pelican Truck Stop in Laurel and go grocery shopping for the week. On Sunday, they would cook the meal for the week and deliver extra meals to some of their friends.

Dale was very conservative with his money. He loved giving investment advice. He would say reinvest dividends, pay off mortgages and stay out of debt. Have more than one income stream. Don't buy things unless you can write them off or need them to survive.

He was extremely fond of Ronda's dog Tequa, a Chihuahua; and Logan's cat, Bobbi.

Dale is survived by Kathy Palmer and her family, whom he loved dearly; his daughter, Evanne Rae Deines and her daughters, Naomi and Adelle Nation; his daughter, Ronda Lee Burleson and her daughter Logan and son Nathan; his mother, Irene Lachenmeier Deines; his siblings, Beverly Henman and Gregg Deines; and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Michelotti-Sawyers, 1001 Alderson Ave.; burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens. A reception will be held after the funeral at the Elks Lodge, 934 Lewis Ave, Billings.

Dale was a wise, loving man who will be dearly missed by his family and friends.