Rudolph ‘Rudy’ B. Kratofil

Hamilton – Rudolph “Rudy” B. Kratofil, age 90, passed away Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at Bitterroot Health Daly Hospital of natural causes. He was born October 24, 1931, to Michael and Katherine Kratofil. He was one of the first babies born at Marcus Daly Hospital. Rudy was raised on the family farm on Fish Hatchery Road and attended Grantsdale and Hamilton schools. While at Hamilton High School, he participated in track and field running the high hurdles. He held a school record for the event from 1950 until 1977. He graduated from Hamilton High in 1950 and joined the United States Navy where he served 4 years. He attended Montana State College from 1955-1958. While at MSC, he met his loving wife, Bernice Kleffner. He and Bernice graduated from MSC and were married June 14, 1958. They would have celebrated 64 years of marriage in June. During the early years of marriage, they lived in Bozeman, Seattle, and Missoula before making their home in Hamilton. Rudy & Bernice welcomed 3 children, Kathy, Anne & Dan. They raised their kids in a home that Rudy built on nights and weekends while working at Ravalli County Electric. Rudy worked at the REA from 1961-1991 as a power use and conservation specialist. While Rudy worked at the REA, he also had several other jobs and businesses. He farmed the land in Grantsdale and Hamilton, owned rentals, the Corvallis Laundromat, and Rudy’s Mobile Home Sales. Rudy was a member of the Bitterroot Ridge Runners snowmobile club, the Lions Club, was on the Board of Directors for the Hamilton Golf Course and Daly Ditches. He was part owner of Sleeping Child Hot Springs in the 1960’s. He always kept very busy, and one might say “working hard” was his calling. He enjoyed working and received a great deal of satisfaction from a good day’s work. In 1976, Rudy built the duck and fishponds, hoping that it could one day be a place he could enjoy with his grandchildren.  The Kratofil Duck Pond has become a favorite place for people from all over the valley to visit and watch the wildlife. It brought him great joy to feed the ducks and fish every day. He loved viewing the comings and goings of both the wildlife and people. Rudy’s true pride and joy was his family. He loved spending time with them laughing, telling stories, attending sporting events, and celebrating special occasions/accomplishments. Rudy was well known all over the Bitterroot Valley and his smile and positive, upbeat personality made him a well-liked person. He loved visiting with friends, old and new, but his true passion was farming! He moved sprinkler pipes for many years and enjoyed a good day of picking rocks. His favorite place was on his Kubota tractor. He would sometimes use the tractor to do a job that didn’t require a tractor. Life was always good when he was on the Kubota. Rudy was a generous man with a huge heart. He would remind you to live life to the fullest, be kind to others, and lend a helping hand.

Rudy is preceded in death by his father, mother, 3 half-brothers (John, Ed, and Stanley), a half-sister (Theresa), and his brother Joe. He is survived by his wife Bernice, his children Kathy (Jeff), Anne (Mike), and Dan (Betsy). Also, his grandchildren Jordan, Jen, Sarah, John, Meghan, Sami, and by numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at the Daly Leach Chapel on Saturday, March 5, 2022, at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a charity of your choice in Rudy’s name. Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com