Carl A. Rosenleaf

Services are at 1 p.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church of Great Falls. O’Connor Funeral Home of Great Falls is in charge of arrangements.

A beloved husband, father, and papa, he was taken from his family far too soon.

Born on February 6, 1946 in Anaconda to Roy and Martha Rosenleaf, Carl was the third of five siblings. From an early age, he bedeviled his mother with his precocious manual dexterity, at one point dismantling all the doorknobs in the house. Later he would put those skills to better use, learning all facets of carpentry and home improvement from his father, a longtime member of the Carpenters Union.

He was just 16 when he started dating Patricia Ann Malcolm, the love of his life. The two of them married in 1967 while they were studying at Western Montana College to become teachers. They would have celebrated their 43rd anniversary this year.

They left Dillon after graduation for positions with the Great Falls Public Schools, with Carl starting his career as an industrial arts teacher at the old Paris Gibson School and eventually teaching at West and North Junior High Schools and the new Paris Gibson Middle School. He earned a master’s degree from Northern Montana College in 1976. In the classroom, he was instrumental in creating a new home maintenance curriculum that taught all middle schoolers how to accomplish basic tasks such as fixing a faucet and building a wall. In response to heavy demand, he went on to teach that course to many local adults as well. He retired from the Great Falls Public Schools in 2003, but he was a lifelong teacher to friends, children, and grandchildren in his home shop.

While work was always important to Carl, his real passion was for his family. His two children, Nicole and Alex, were a constant source of pride and joy, and he would brag about them to anyone who would listen. He delighted in being a family man, keeping Patricia, Nicole, and Alex at the center of his life. That joy was multiplied when Nicole married Chip Ritter and Alex married Kari Duffner, adding a son and daughter-in-law and, eventually, four grandchildren to the family.

Carl is survived by his wife, Patricia Rosenleaf, of Great Falls; his daughter Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter and son-in-law Chip Ritter of Livingston; and his son Alex Rosenleaf and daughter-in-law Kari Rosenleaf of Black Eagle. He also leaves four grandchildren, Connery and Emerson Ritter of Livingston, and Hannah and Kennedy Rosenleaf of Black Eagle; his sister, Ellen (Ron) Holten of Hamilton; and two brothers, Howie (Bea) Rosenleaf of Anaconda and Dick (Julie) Rosenleaf of Butte, as well as numerous nephews and nieces. MaryPat and Jerry Smith of Great Falls were lifelong special friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents Roy and Martha Rosenleaf; his parents-in-law Stan and Doris Malcolm; and his younger brother, James Rosenleaf.

Condolences may be posted online at www.oconnorfuneralhome.com.