Allen Darling

Allen Darling, 94

Allen “Al” Neville Darling, 94 of Columbia Falls, passed away June 7, 2023, of natural causes.

He was born March 25, 1929, in Newport, Washingon, to Neville Darling and Martha Ruth "Marty" (née Christman) Darling. He was the middle of three brothers, between Douglas "Doug" and Donald "Donnie."

He lived in Columbia Falls until he was about 10, then moved with his brothers to work on the family ranch near West Kootenai and Rexford, close to the U.S. border with Canada. The Darling brothers rode horses to school. In his ranch life on the Kootenai River, young Allen learned to rely on the land for both livelihood and recreation, and he continued to live and work in nature, enjoying the great outdoors, for the rest of his life.

In his late teens and early 20s, he did contract work with timber companies, including the J. Neils Lumber Co., and the U.S. Forest Service. He spent time in the timber town of Valsetz, Oregon. As a logger he stood on springboards, pushing and pulling crosscut saws to fell select timber.

He served in the U.S. Army in American-occupied Japan during the Korean War.

Following his military service, he returned to the Forest Service, where he made a living logging, planting trees, and firefighting.

In June 1955, he married Eileen (née Marken) DuPont of Bigfork, adopted her two children, Greg and Kat, and moved to Milton-Freewater, Oregon, to be close to his mother and her husband, John Kinnaird. The couple had two more children, David in 1956 and Mary Ann in 1960.

In Milton-Freewater, he transitioned to the construction industry, eventually training as a heavy equipment operator under the tutelage of Hermiston, Oregon’s Shockman Bros. As a builder, he worked in Montana, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Cranes became Allen’s specialty. He worked as a crane operator and an oiler. An oiler is responsible for keeping the moving parts on a crane oiled, and they also break down or add onto a crane’s boom. Crane work took a combination of physical strength and mental fortitude. His hands guided cranes as large as the 400-ton Manitowoc, and his adventures took him to the North Slope of Alaska. Employed by Kodiak Oilfield Haulers, his projects included moving oil rigs to new locations in Prudhoe Bay and venturing onto ice packs on the Beaufort Sea for oil drilling.

His mailing address while on the job was Deadhorse, Alaska, on the northern end of the Alaskan highway system. His homebase was Anchorage. Before moving to Alaska he worked on the Libby Dam project in Montana as a D8 Caterpillar operator, pushing blasting debris off the hillsides near Rexford. The area was so steep that crews tied the bulldozers onto cables. Despite the nerve-racking nature of the project, Allen stayed on for the whole job.

He operated cranes as part of dam building and bridge making along the Columbia and John Day rivers. Notable projects also included the grain elevator in Arlington, Oregon; power transmission towers through the Washington side of the Columbia Basin; the control tower at the Anchorage International Airport; and a jade staircase as part of construction of the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel. He was a proud union member of Laborers’ Local 701 and Operating Engineers Local 302.

While living in Alaska, he made many friends, including Franklin Jackson and George Bush (neither of them former presidents despite their presidential-sounding names). The men fished for salmon on the Kenai River and other famous Alaskan waters. In his free time he fished and hunted. His thrill and passion was fly fishing for trout, drift fishing for winter steelhead as well as elk hunting in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and moose hunting in Alaska. He also was a skilled horseman and rode his last cattle drive in his late 60s. His favorite outdoors in Montana included the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Yaak Valley. He was quick to join friends and family for hunting trips, usually starting with this offer for his role in cam, “I’ll do the dishes, but I won’t cook.”

Forever curious and concerned about the state of the world, Allen kept up on news, politics and economics.

Following his retirement he and Eileen relocated to Kalispell. He lived in Eureka and then Rexford after her passing. He later married Phyllis Taylor and they moved to Columbia Falls before her death.

In Columbia Falls, he often spent time with his brother Donnie, who was under the care of the Columbia Falls Montana Veteran Home. Allen was a regular at the Nite Owl cafe. He liked his coffee black.

Allen was preceded in death by his first wife, Eileen Darling, in 2000; and his second wife, Phyllis Darling, in 2013; along with his brothers, Doug and Donnie; his son-in-law John Madaio; and sister, Sharon Branscome.

He is survived by son, David (Kelly) of Browns Valley, California; daughter, Mary Ann (Tom) Illingworth of Salt Lake City; son, Greg of Corvallis, Oregon; daughter, Kat Madaio of Rexford; grandson, Joseph Illingworth of Salt Lake City; granddaughter, Catherine of Portland, Oregon; and grandson, Dylan (Gale) of Eugene, Oregon (great-grandchildren James and Julia); as well as by sister, Cecillia (Dale) White of Eureka; third cousin, Chuck of Columbia Falls. Also Phyllis’ grown children; daughter, Carlila (Ric) Hughes of Cheney, Washington; son, Carl (Roleen) Anderson of Kalispell; daughter, Terrie (Dan) Blomquist of Kalispell; son, Gary (Tana) Anderson of Columbia Falls; and son, Lee Anderson of Kalispell. He is also survived by an extended family rooted in Montana including; the Yennes, Orsers, and Mortons.

He is dearly missed by family and friends alike. Darlington Cremation and Burial Service in Kalispell is in charge of arrangements.

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