Richard Lee Shimp

Richard Lee ‘Rick’ Shimp, 68, passed away Friday, December 20, 2013 at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls.  Whitted Funeral Chapel of Cut Bank is in charge of arrangements and visitation will be held there on December 26 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Funeral services will be held December 27 at 11:00 am at St Paul Lutheran Church in Cut Bank with military graveside honors at Crown Hill Cemetery.  A reception will follow at The Den.  Memorials may be made to Benefis Foundation for Gift of Life Housing, PO Box 7008, Great Falls, MT 59406, or a charity of your choice.

Rick was born October 1, 1945 to Marie Betty (Drobig) and Herman W. Shimp in Coeur d'Alene, ID.  He spent his early years as an "Air Force brat" traveling with his parents, later settling in the Spokane area.  In his teens, Rick began working as a groom at Playfair Racetrack in Spokane and  Longacres in Seattle resulting in his lifelong love of thoroughbred horses and racing.  In 1964, by invitation from "Uncle Sam", Rick spent 2 years in the U.S. Army in ordinance in Hohenfels, Germany.  After his discharge, he attended Eastern Washington State College and later received his electronics degree from Spokane Community College.

Rick and Penny Proefrock of Cut Bank met in Spokane and were married there on June 7, 1975 and were partners in life for 44 years.

In 1977, Rick went to work as an electronic technician for Tektronix in Portland, OR; then in 1980 began his life's career in medical equipment field service for Picker International, now known as Philips Electronics.  After working at Children's Hospital in Seattle, he became the CT specialist at St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings and Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City.  After many years of windshield time servicing sites throughout eastern Montana, he retired in 2006.  Rick and Penny moved to Cut Bank in 2010.

Rick had a real zest for life and had many interests including classic muscle cars, downhill skiing, home brewing, building and flying R/C airplanes, taking flying lessons, floating the Yellowstone and Spokane Rivers, and riding his Harleys, especially to Sturgis.  One of the most enjoyable things Rick did was to work on the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive in 1989.  Rick was a fine mechanic and could fix anything that was broken.  He was a secret good deed-doer and may have been the guy who stopped to pull you out of a snow bank, out of the ditch, gave you a ride to get gas, changed your tire or jump started your car.  His strong will and determination made anything possible.  He was a point of light in this world and will be missed so much.

Survivors include his wife Penny; mother Betty of Spokane; aunt Lucille Olin; cousins Julie Price, John McGinn, Mike and Scott Olin; sisters-in-law, Lenny (Casey) Joyce, Cathy (Gary) Sprint, Robin (Jim) Guith; and nieces, Roxie, Mary, Jaclyn and Gina.  Rick was preceded in death by his grandparents; stepfather Jerry Bohnen; aunts and uncles John and Doris McGinn and Harry Olin; and father- and mother-in-law, Len and Shirley Proefrock.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Drs. Berdeaux and Martin and to the wonderful caring oncology nurses and CNAs at Benefis who took such good care of Rick and made this last trip bearable.  We would also like to thank Rick's doctors over the years: Robert Stockdale, Neil Sorenson, Ray Yeung at UW, Seattle, and Jan Thomas who was our friend and helped us navigate the system over the years.  A very special thank you goes to Susie and Mike Frederick for always being there for us.