Obituary - Michael F. Jennings

Michael F. Jennings, 76, passed away due to natural causes Friday, August 11, 2023, at the Northern Montana Care Center.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 18, 2023, at Fifth Avenue Christian Church with Pastor Rick Hodshire officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

His family has suggested memorial donations be made in Mike's memory to the Parkinson's Foundation, the Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society, or the charity of the donor's choice.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

Please visit Mike's online memorial page to send a card or leave a message of condolence for his family at https://www.hollandbonine.com .

Mike was born November 13, 1946, in Indianapolis, IN, to Floyd and Viola (Grider) Jennings. He was raised in Indianapolis, graduating from Warren Central High School in 1965. The following year, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving until his honorable discharge in 1970. His last duty station was Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, MT, where he met Dee Dee Rucinsky, and the couple married on October 17, 1970. Mike was discharged in November that year, and they moved to Houston, TX, for a year, and then to Havre, MT, where their three children were born and raised. There, Mike worked for Burlington Northern Railroad until 1995, when he was forced to retire due to medical issues.

Mike was a happy, fun-loving, outgoing man who enjoyed playing pranks on his family, especially his sister. He enjoyed playing golf, pool, baseball, and basketball, bowling, swimming, and coaching his kids' baseball and soft-pitch softball teams. He was a member of Fifth Avenue Christian Church, and the Lions Club, and had long been a member of the American Legion and Gideons International. For many years, Mike was a member of the Havre jail ministry.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Viola Jennings; and siblings Eddie Messner, Carolyn Jennings and Linda Gilbert.

Mike is survived by his wife, Dee Dee Jennings of Havre; daughter, Stacie Jennings of Colorado; sons, Chris and Ben Jennings, both of Havre; four grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; siblings Jauretta (Rex Leslie) Heffernan of Houston, TX, Sandy Erby of MD, Jim (Carolyn) Reimer of CA, and Tammy Stewart of IN; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.