Gilbert Kaul

February 21, 1925 - May 25, 2021

Gilbert (Gil) Kaul, age 96, of Glendive, Montana, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at the Glendive Hospital; at his bedside were his long-time friend Shirley Goetz of Glendive, and one of his favorite nieces Cindi Mahan Young, also of Glendive. Visitation will be Thursday, June 3, 2021 from 3 pm to 6 pm, at the Silha Funeral Home in Glendive. Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 AM Friday, June 4, 2021 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Glendive with Pastor Greg Lucido officiating. Interment will be at Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Gilbert was born in Hosmer, South Dakota on February 21, 1925 to John and Carolina (Stotz) Kaul who had immigrated to the US in the early 1900’s from southern Russia. Gil was baptized and then later confirmed Lutheran in 1939 in Circle, Montana where the family had moved from South Dakota. In the 1940’s, John and Carolina and their family moved to a small farm outside of Glendive in what was then known as The Buffalo Rapids Project, a part of the WPA program. Even though Gil was not in the military, he had the desire to be; however, he was needed on the family farm, so his father John secured an exemption for Gil. Again, because of his need to help on the farm, Gil was unable to complete high school until he completed his GED in 1970. Working on the farm did have a benefit, though. It was here that Gilbert met the love of his life, Marie Neiffer who was a shy, pretty young woman who lived on the farm across the road from the Kaul farm. After a year+ of courtship, they married on October 15, 1944 at Trinity Lutheran church, the small country church outside of Glendive. Marie was the daughter of John and Eva (Schock) Neiffer. Gil and Marie were soon blessed with three children, two of whom survive their father - two daughters, Pamela Wheeler of San Juan Capistrano, California and Sandra Lobdell of Casper, Wyoming. The Kaul’s only son, Roger, was called home to Jesus in January of 1989 after his valiant battle with cancer. In 1946, Gil and Marie purchased a small farm on the Buffalo Rapids Project east of Glendive. It was soon determined that additional income was needed to support their family, so Gil took a job as a mechanic at International Harvester. He worked there during the days, and then early mornings and late evenings, he worked on the farm with Marie assisting with whatever she could during the day. After several years there, Gil went on to work as a mechanic at what is now American Ford in Glendive. In 1961 they moved to Miles City, Montana so Marie could attend Beauty College. From there they moved to Missoula, Montana and then to California in 1971. Always a “Ford man”, Gil gained employment at a Ford dealership near their California home, and both Gil and Marie joined the church choir and were active members at Hope Lutheran Church, Glendora, California. Gil was an auto mechanic for almost 40 years before retiring in 1992. After the tragic loss of Roger, they remained in California until Gil’s retirement at which time they moved back to Glendive to spend their final years with siblings and cousins. After being Marie’s sole caregiver for several years, Gil determined that he needed to have assistance with Marie, and so in November of 2004 he made the difficult decision to move her to the Nursing Home in Glendive where she remained until her death on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2007. Gil and Marie had enjoyed 62 years of marriage. Gil remained in their Glendive home until August 2014 when he moved to Makoshika Estates, and then onto another apartment complex near the fairgrounds. He lived independently in Glendive until October of 2020 at which time he fought and won the battle with COVID-19. However, with the fierce Montana winters in the very near future - Sandie, Pam and Gil determined that it was best that he move out of the apartment and into The Heritage Assisted Living. Just a few days after that move, it was determined that Gil would be better suited for Glendive Extended Care which he entered November 11, 2020 and remained there until his death. Gil was preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings: Alvera Gilbert, Marvin Kaul, Irene Entzel and Verna Lassle. Gil leaves a legacy of family: * Pamela Wheeler (Phil) and son Glenn and wife Roxanne who have two children, Kieren and Kai * Sandra Lobdell (Steve) and their four children: * Jennifer Holland (Jack), and sons Ashton and Gabriel * Hillary Rowe (Josh), and son Jacob * Ross Lobdell and son Conner * Natalie Lobdell * Daughter-in-law Terriann Wanland, widow of Roger Kaul; their children: * Marisa Stapleton (Sean) and daughters Mikayla, Shalynn and Kaylee * Nicole Shaible (Jake) and children Bodie and Betty * Numerous nieces and nephews Gil was a warm, gentle spirit of a man, easy to know and love. “Gil is the Real Deal!” as one of Pam’s friends shared. He was truly a Man of God as he lived his life in service to his family and others, a quiet, helping hand whenever and wherever needed. His favorite pastimes in recent months were days spent at the Lassle Ranch with many of his nieces and nephews. He will be deeply missed! Psalm 116: 15. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints.”