William Joseph Novak

Bill was always very kind to me and my family. We enjoyed visiting him while he vacationed here in Arizona. Yes, Bill was light hearted and fun to be around. He will be missed.

Vicki our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Greg & Tessie Scurei

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William Joseph Novak was born in Butte, Montana on July 16, 1926, to John and Luby Novak. Bill died peacefully at home early Tuesday morning with his wife and children by his side. He was one of six children and was definitely one of a kind.

Bill grew up in Butte and on the family farm in Hamilton, Montana. He graduated from Hamilton High School and joined the United States Air Force, serving in Guam during World War ll. After his honorable discharge, Bill worked as a tour bus driver in Yellowstone Park and attended classes at Montana State University in Bozeman. Bill worked for a time in the trucking industry, but left to follow his dream of becoming a Montana Highway Patrolman.

On February 23, 1952, he married Charleen Conner, and they had two children, Sharon and John. Bill's business ambitions surfaced while he was in the Highway Patrol, and he and Charleen together started Char-El Mobile Homes in Glasgow and later in Billings. In the 1970s, he and his partners opened Gallatin Homes Corporation in Belgrade, Montana, which manufactured modular homes. On March 13, 1985, Bill married Victoria Altmayer and became a stepfather to her three children, Christine, Michael, and Andrea.

In 1993, at a celebration in Las Vegas, Bill was inducted into the national Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame. Bill finally "retired" from active business in 1996.

Bill's sense of humor and playfulness were legendary. If you could survive his "needling" (his way of expressing love), you would realize you were in the company of a wonderfully warm and generous soul. To be with Bill was to laugh often and to argue spiritedly - you tried to convince him that the "damn Democrats" weren't responsible for every problem in the world and he tried to convince you that cigarettes don't cause cancer.

Bill's work ethic was driven into him by his parents, immigrants from Austria, and he worked hard all his life. Bill also loved animals, once rescuing an injured pigeon and taking it to the Animal Shelter. When Bill and Vicki's beloved Duffy died, he was inconsolable; Duffy had been his constant companion.

Bill was a character. It was a treat to sit around and hear him tell stories about growing up during the Depression, especially when he talked about the escapades of him and his brother Clyde. They were stories his family could hear over and over again.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Marie, Frances, Ruby, and Velma, and his son Douglas. He is survived by his beloved wife~ "Wicki,", his children, Sharon and John (Kathy), (Yes, Dad, we finally learned that you don't own Montana Power, that money doesn't grow on trees, and that we shouldn't go jumping up and down in the store when we want something); his step-children, Christine, Michael and Andrea Altmayer; and his three grandchildren, Caitlin Singer, Matthew Singer (Yes Grandpa- I am a Democrat!) and Ricci Novak Cameron. Bill is also survived by his sister Alice O'Leary and his brother Clyde Novak and many nieces and nephews.

We will always miss you.

Thank you to Dr. Santala, his staff and Big Sky Hospice.

Memorial services will be 1pm Saturday at Michelotti-Sawyers Mortuary

Should friends desire, memorial contributions can be made in Bill Novak's name to Big Sky Hospice and the Montana Humane Society.