GEORGE KATO obituary

George Kato, 78, of Great Falls, a retired warehouse manager, died of natural causes Monday, Feb. 7, 2005, at a Great Falls hospital.

A funeral Mass will be held at

11 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Great Falls. A rite of committal will be 11 a.m. Monday in

Calvary Cemetery in Havre. A vigil will be 7 p.m. Friday at the O'Connor Memorial Chapel in Great Falls. Visitation is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the O'Connor Funeral Home.

George was born Jan. 3, 1927, in Havre and was raised in Havre. He attend schools in Havre and graduated from Havre High School. He attended Northern Montana College in Havre for one year.

George married Arlene Weller on Sept. 24, 1951, in Bluffton, Minn.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1945-1947 and was stationed in Germany and Switzerland.

George worked for the Great Northern Railway during high school. He was a warehouse manager for F.A. Buttrey Co. in Havre and Great Falls for many years and moved to Great Falls with them in 1960 from Havre. He worked later as a warehouse manager for Montgomery Ward Co., until disability retirement due to cancer. Later, he worked occasionally part-time for Chapel of Chimes and O'Connor funeral homes.

George was a member of the Knights of Columbus in Havre and Great Falls and the Great Falls Transportation Club. He was a Benefis West Hospital volunteer in the oncology department. He served on the Oncology Protocol Board, Benefis Healthcare Regional Cancer Institute Board, and Great Falls Community Concert Board, as well as a volunteer ushering for concerts.

George enjoyed music, fishing, woodcrafting and volunteering.

George was preceded in death by his dad, Hachiemon Kato; mother, Yoshiko (Iwata) Kato; daughter, Lynne Marie Kato; brothers, Harry Kato of Chicago, Ill., Ray Kato of Havre and Ted Kato of Thompson Falls; and sister, Susie (Wally) Wong of Portland, Ore.

Survivors include his wife, Arlene M. (Weller) Kato of Great Falls; sons, Tim (Dawn) Kato of Missoula and Ron Kato (Rita) of Redmond, Wash .; sisters, Aki (Misato) Kato of Osaka, Japan and Carole (Clyde) Moesinger of Anaheim, Calif .; brothers, Yach (Jean) Kato of Chicago, Ill., Mark (Johanna) Kato of Havre and Frank (Nancy) Kato of New Castle, Wash .; sisters-in-law, Sachi Kato of Chicago, Ill., Lois Kato of Havre and Jean Kato of Desert Hot Springs, Calif .; four grandchildren; and many, many nieces and nephews and friends.

Memorials are suggested to Sletten Regional Cancer Institute in care of the Benefis Foundation or Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.