Nov. 13, 1934-Jan. 4, 2021

Carl Hafer passed away peacefully with family by his side on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Born to Carlyle W. and Ellen Hafer on Nov. 13, 1934, in Twin Falls, Idaho, Carl's family moved to Butte when he was in elementary school and they lived on Reynolds Street. Carl grew up with older sister, Joann, and younger brother and sister, Dick and Gere. Carl went to Emerson Grade School and Butte High School.

At 18 years old in March 1953, Carl and a high school friend enlisted in the Army at Butte's main recruiting station and were sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, for basic training. He then transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Airborne and paratrooper training. Carl was a member in the 187th RCT Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Infantry Regiment, Rakkasans. Jumping out of airplanes was their mission and he completed about 60 jumps in the skies over America and Japan. As a paratrooper, he advanced to the elite Pathfinders group whose motto was "first in … last out." Carl was very proud of his military service and loved his country.

After the service, Carl married his high school sweetheart, Patty Kelly on July 14, 1956, in Sacred Heart Catholic Church. They moved to Missoula where Carl attended the University of Montana and earned a bachelor's degree in education. Early in their marriage, Carl worked for Naranche and Konda, (N&K), as a truck driver transporting equipment to highway jobs the company had building the interstate highway system across Montana. He hauled several D8 bulldozers over the Continental Divide in the 1950s and 1960s. Carl loved the job and made many great friends while working for N&K. In the summer of 1967 with four children under the age of ten, Carl and Patty packed up their 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 and moved to Hilmar, California, for two years, where Carl taught business classes at the local high school. Missing Butte, the beautiful state of Montana, and not really liking the hot summers in the San Joaquin Valley, they returned to Butte. For 20 years, Carl was the financial aid officer at the Butte Vo-Tech, where he helped students apply for financial assistance. During this time, Carl earned a master's degree in Business Administration from Western Montana College in Dillon. Carl retired from the Vo-Tech when he was 55 and then went to work building fences on Butte's Superfund sites. Getting up and going to work on one of his jobs or projects never got old for Carl; even in his early 80's, a good day of work was hard to beat.

Together Carl and Patty raised five children, Kelly, Tym, Jayme, Jeff and Chris, made a good life for their family, and enjoyed simple things like listening to the birds in the early morning, a good rainstorm, and going for rides in the country. Carl and Patty loved the people of Butte and enjoyed many good times with family and friends. Carl was a loving husband to Patty, and they celebrated 63 years of marriage before Patty passed away in August 2019.

Carl didn't care too much for hobbies. Instead, he enjoyed making extra money from side jobs he pursued in the evenings and on the weekends. Whether it was hauling and selling hay, feeding 20 or so mother cows through the winter and then selling the cows and calves in the spring, buying used computer cards from the Montana Power Company and selling them to a recycling company, or buying junk vehicles and reselling them to an auto parts dealer in Spokane, Washington, Carl enjoyed every minute of his buy-sell adventures. Each one of his kids can tell you a good story or two about some of his money-making endeavors they were expected to help with during their teenage years. Back in the day, Carl loved reading the paper in the early morning with a cup of coffee, got a kick out of the Rick O'Shay comic strip, enjoyed reading books over watching television, and had a collection of CDs, his favorite genre was cowboy music. Throughout his life, Carl had a soft spot for folks down on their luck. There was a time when if he passed a hitchhiker on the road or highway, he did not hesitate to turn around and pick the person up, usually a fellow, and help get him further down the road.

Carl owned many horses over the years and enjoyed riding them at his home in Butte and at "The Beacon," the family name for a land parcel northwest of Butte that Carl owned for many years. He especially liked American Paint horses, and always seemed to have at least one horse named Buck. The last horse Carl owned was a wild Mustang that bucked him off once but that did not stop him from getting back up in the saddle well into his late seventies.

Over the years, Carl and Patty attended a Rakkasans reunion in Niagara Falls, New York, and in 2006, they visited Japan, where Carl had been stationed. Carl was preceded in death by his parents; beloved wife, Patty; and sister and brothers, Joann, Dick, and Tom Hafer.

He is survived by his daughters and son-in-law, Kelly Kincaid of San Diego, California, Tym Hafer Frear of Butte, and Jayme (Martin) Carlson of Helena; sons and daughter-in-law, Jeff Hafer and Chris (Torri) Hafer of Butte; sister and brother-in-law, Gere (Steve) Speer of Polson; brothers-in-law, George "Dunk" Darragh and Jim (Sally) Kelly; and numerous nieces and nephews. Carl is also survived by his grandchildren — Nikki Bostick and her husband, James Bostick and their son, Henry (Carl's first great-grandchild) of Yuma, Arizona, William Kincaid of Seattle, Washington, Eric Carlson of Milwaukie, Oregon, Garrett Carlson of Bozeman, Cody Hafer of Helena, Kaylee Hafer of Missoula, and Sophia Frear, Kaden Hafer, Shealyn Hafer and Sheridan Hafer, all of Butte.

The Hafer family would like to thank The Springs of Butte Memory Care Unit and Senior Solutions Hospice for their kind and compassionate care of our dad. Due to COVID restrictions, there will be a private family memorial service and then a celebration of life at a later date.

Memorials may be made to Disabled American Veterans (dav.org or call (877) 647-8387) or a charity of the donor's choice.