George Maloney

George Maloney found peace with his Holy Family on the morning of Aug. 12, 2010.

The funeral service will be held at Coffelt Funeral Chapel in Sandpoint, Idaho, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010, with the graveside service at 1 p.m. at the Clark Fork Cemetery. There will be a pot luck dinner following at the Clark Fork Senior Center.

George Maloney was born to William and Ella (Vogel) Maloney in Pinconning, Mich., on Dec. 12, 1925. He first came to Clark Fork, Idaho, at the age of 16 with just $1.76 in his pocket, riding the rails and staying in hobo camps. He stopped briefly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan picking cherries to get a little more money before hopping on the rails again and heading west. He stayed with his Uncle Frank Vogel in Clark Fork for the summer, returning home for school in Pinconning in the fall.

At the age of 17, during World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was in one of the first waves on Iwo Jima. There he was severely injured and received a Purple Heart.

After a year of hospitalization in San Diego and then in Michigan, he was drawn back to Clark Fork in 1948 where he meet and shortly thereafter married the love of his life, Ramona (Monie) Mae Sacht. George and Monie were blessed with four beautiful daughters: Julia Maloney, Rhea Maloney, Delilah Maloney, and Roberta Maloney-Harga-don (husband: Greg Harga-don). They have 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

George fished commercially and worked on his Uncle Frank’s farm before he was hired by the U.S. Forest Service. He worked for the Forest Service doing a variety of roles, including lumber scaling, timber cruising, and fire fighting where he was a fire boss. He was stationed at the Clark Fork Ranger Station with a brief time in Sandpoint until his retirement in 1975.

The Maloney home became a place where many of the Forest Service “young bucks,” as George would call them, would come for dinner and to just have a home-away-from-home. Monie never knew how many plates she would need at the table (or how much food for that matter!) until George would drive up in his 1947 Ford. Although all of these men hold a special place in both George’s and Monie’s hearts, they “adopted” two: Donald Lyons (wife: Darlene) of Sandpoint and James Boyer (wife: Edee) of McPherson, Kan. Both Don and Jim have continued to be an intimate part of the Maloney family.

George was an avid fisherman and hunter and he and Monie spent many delightful hours out on their boat fishing on Lake Pend Oreille. They had the opportunity to take off in their motorhome after his retirement and fulfill a dream of George’s, which was going to Alaska. On their first day fishing there, George caught a big salmon in one of the Alaska rivers. That hooked George and Monie and they returned to Alaska for four more long and wonderful adventures. During the trips, they fished and clammed, canning enough fish and clams to bring home and share with the rest of the family. They visited friends and met many new friends.

The land and lake around Clark Fork brought George many hours of solitude and peace.

Every summer, all of the daughters and their families would return to the family home in Clark fork for two weeks for an event which the family called Camp Maloney. There was nothing that made George happier than being with his grandchildren. He loved pushing them in the swings, taking them hiking and especially huckleberry picking. After they had cleaned the berries, he would take them down to the lake, where he spent hours in the boat while all of the grandchildren learned to water ski. Those were truly blessed times for George.

George also took time after he retired to look up many of the Marines he served with or was in the hospital with during World War II. He and Money actually drove as far away as Arizona, Michigan and Texas to reunite with some of these men. Others that he couldn’t meet again in person he would call and talk with on a regular basis.

George was preceded in passing by his mother and father; his brothers, William, Edward, Virgil and James; and a daughter, Kay Arndt of Bay City, Mich. He is survived by his wife, their four daughters, all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; his sister, Rhea Maloney of Pinconning, Mich.; and his brother, Charles Maloney of Detroit, Mich.

George was never one for flowers (although Monie’s dahlias were the one exception). So in lieu of flowers and in consideration of George’s title as “The Guardian Angel of Sacred Heart Church” in Clark Fork for many many years the family will be doing something there in his honor. If you wish, send donations to Ramona Maloney at Clark Fork and she and the family will put it in a special fund for that purpose, or in the alternative, to a charity of your choice in his name.

Words will never express how much he is loved and how much he will be missed as a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend.

Family and friends are invited to sign George’s online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.