George Kucera,

George B. Kucera, Jr. passed away peacefully at his Laurel home on Monday, May 15, 2017 after an 18 month fight with cancer. His wife, Judith, and his faithful labs, Molly and Zipper, were present at his side. George will be remembered by all for his kindness, generosity and amazing sense of humor. He always had a twinkle in his eye. George was born in Glasgow, Montana on January 18, 1948 to George B. Kucera, Sr. and Eileen M. Jacobson Kucera. He was the third of six children and the only son. In 1950, the family moved to Forsyth, MT where George graduated from Forsyth High School in 1966. George played tuba in the high school band and was selected to represent Montana in the Montana Centennial Band at the 1964 Rose Bowl. Following graduation, George went to work for the Northern Pacific Railroad. His railroad work was interrupted by his enlistment in the US Navy in 1967 where he served as an aircraft electrician on the USS Independence. Upon his honorable discharge in 1971, he returned to work for Burlington Northern Railroad. He continued serving his country in the Naval Reserves until 1973. In 1972, George married Virginia Popelka. George adopted her two children, William and Lisa; in addition, they had two girls, Alana and Elizabeth. They divorced in 1983. In 1992, George met the love of his life and his soul mate, Judith. They were married in July 2000. Judith had two adult children, Ryan and Jill Herzog. George and Judy enjoyed travel to Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the Panama Canal as well as throughout the US. George continued to work for Burlington Northern for 42 years, retiring in 2008. George was a gadget and a handy guy and enjoyed repairing and remodeling his rentals, assembling his model train set and creating the perfect home theater. He was an avid advocate of electric vehicles and was instrumental in having Tesla install charging units in Red Lodge at no charge to the city. George had one of the few Tesla cars in the Billings area and enjoyed showing folks the unique engineering of that vehicle. In 2016 he enjoyed racing at the Yellowstone Drag Strip where spectators marveled at the silent vehicle that went 109 mph in less than 13 seconds. George was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Mary. He is survived by his wife, Judith; his daughters, Alana (Khemary Nhim of Broomfield, CO), Elizabeth Kucera (Greeley, CO) and grandchildren, Dominique, Desiree, Isabella, Janissa, Jazlyn, Alexia and Kaylee; his great-grandson Makai; his daughter-in-law Tristi Kucera and her children, Selina, William, Tristian and Antonio; his sisters, Helen Moore (Ft. Lupton, CO), Jeanne Spannagel (Forsyth), Barbara Fink (Sioux Falls, SD), and Cindy Urbaniak (Billings) and their spouses and various nieces, nephews and in-laws. Many thanks to George's childhood friend, Joe Piseno, for being by his side during the final week of his journey. The family would like to express deep appreciation to Dr. Patrick Cobb and staff from the Frontier Cancer Center and Paul and Kathy from Compassus Hospice for their care in George's final days. Paul was an amazing caregiver during George's hospice experience. A Memorial Service will be 11:30 pm Friday, May 19 at Dahl Funeral Chapel. Interment will be in Yellowstone National Cemetery with military honors. Memories may be shared with the family at www.dahlfuneralchapel.com In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Help for Homeless Pets or School District #2 Homeless Program. Be kind to one another.