Stevensville – Kristin Ann Vetaly-Gough passed away on Wednesday, December 13th, 2023 in the early evening under the same Geminid meteor shower that welcomed her 66 years prior.
Kristi was born in Vermillion, South Dakota on December 14th, l957 to her parents, Charles Bryan Gough (Chuck) and Carolyn Ann Stordahl (Wiebe). The family moved to Minneapolis following Chuck’s graduation from the University of South Dakota in the spring of 1958. She attended elementary school in Minnetonka Mills and Apple Valley. At age 11, Kristi set her mind to buying a horse. She baby-sat and saved every nickel she could until she had enough to buy Shiloh, her beloved horse. She spent every available moment riding and training Shiloh and kept her until she graduated college and moved west. Kristi graduated from Rosemount Senior High School in 1976. She earned her degree in Veterinary Technology from the Medical Institute of Minnesota in 1978 and promptly took a job in Lander, Wyoming. She fell in love with the Mountain West, exploring the landscapes as an avid backpacker and bike tourer over the next half decade. She moved briefly to Colorado Springs and then on to Missoula, Montana in 1980 to pursue a Wildlife Biology degree. She earned her BS in 1983 while working at the University of Montana Zoology Department’s Animal Research Laboratory. While working and learning at UM, she met her first husband, Ted Catton. They married in March of 1984, and welcomed their first son, Wally, in July. They brought two more sons into the world, Ben in 1987, and Eli in 1989. As a family of five, they moved to Seattle, Washington in 1989 for Ted’s graduate school. Kristi took a job as a Pediatrician’s Assistant at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Kristi shared her love of animals with her sons, taking them to the Woodland Park Zoo regularly. In 1995 the family returned to Missoula, MT where Kristi became a homeowner for the first time. Kristi had a talent for home improvements, and she revamped seven houses throughout her life, supplementing her career income through shrewd real estate moves. Her homes were beautifully arranged and she put care into every detail of her landscaping, gardening, furnishings, and decorations. Stepping into her home was stepping into her heart. She loved to host family and friends. Cooking, baking, and sharing scrumptious food was her love language.
Kristi started working with Women’s Opportunity Resource Development, WORD, in the late nineties. Through WORD, she met mentors and best friends. Over 13 years she grew her leadership skills and eventually took the reins as a Program Director. Kristi made an outsized impact on the Missoula community through her advocacy and organizing work with WORD.
Kristi showed her boys how to persevere through life’s biggest challenges after she and Ted divorced in 2000.
Kristi met William Vetaly, Bill, in 2008 and they quickly fell in love. They married on Valentine’s Day of 2009. Kristi and Bill loved to play games, snuggle their pets, tackle enormous home projects, explore both Montana and warmer climes, and host family. Together they cultivated beautiful homes and memories across western Montana in Frenchtown, Polson, Columbia Falls, and finally Stevensville.
In the summer of 2012, Kristi was diagnosed with Thymic Carcinoma, a rare cancer. Though given the gravest of diagnoses, Kristi did not lose hope. She fought through brutal surgery and dozens of rounds of chemo and radiation. Her body took on permanent collateral damage, but her spirit and heart came through the battle stronger than ever. She earned a dozen, priceless, bonus years. She coached her sons into adulthood. She became an exceptional grandmother, “Lala,” to four adoring grandkids.
Kristi was preceded in death by her father; Chuck, her step-fathers, Bill Linnenburger and Ed Wiebe; her grandparents, Hazel and Jennings Gough and Harriet and Morris Stordahl; her niece, Nikki; her best friend, Sally; and many other loved ones and treasured pets. She is survived by her husband, Bill; sons, Wally, Ben (Jessie), and Eli (Jessica); her mother, Carolyn; her bonus mother, Kay; her siblings, Steve (Mary), Jane (Kevin), John (Sarah), and Rachel (Kurt); her grandchildren, Hazel, Lewis, Maya, and Sylvan; her step-daughters, Mirissa (Beki) and Angela; and her step-granddaughter, Isabelle; and numerous loving cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, friends, and loved ones. Kristi was a friend to everyone and the most thoughtful, kind, loving daughter, wife, mother, sister, and more, in the world. We will miss her dearly.