Sara Jo Powers passed away April 19 in Kalispell, Montana.
She was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on March 6th 1961 to Verne Thunker and Lorrie (Eliasson) Thunker. She was the second child of five.
When she was around 3 years old her family moved to Iowa and most of the time they lived in LeMars. She had many friends in school and was involved in church and Rainbow Girls. When in Iowa she lived close to both sets of grandparents and made many trips there to visit with them and her cousins. She was especially close to her maternal grandmother because she was the first granddaughter after three grandsons.
By 1971 she acquired two more brothers and a sister. After her youngest brother was born she was like a second mother to him.
The next town she lived in was Kalispell when she was a senior in high school. There she met two of her lifelong friends, Jeannie and Karin, and graduated from Flathead High school in 1979. She and another friend decided to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota where her older brother was, and got a job. The friend came home but she stayed. She loved the Vikings and her passion for the color purple stayed with her the rest of her life. She had a Helga Helmet that she lovingly passed on to her son Cody. In the mid 80’s she moved to Wheatland, Wyoming and that is where she met her husband, Tim Powers. They were married Aug. 12, 1989. There they had their son Cody. The family enjoyed going to rendezvous and camping. She worked in a nursing home and was also very involved in following Cody’s sports.
She moved to Kalispell for the second time in 2015 and became involved with many groups and met many new friends. She was very generous and loved to visit with everyone. Her favorite pass time was watching Reality TV and we couldn’t call her on Wednesday nights. She also learned to play pinochle and was very competitive - especially if she was playing against her brothers.
She is survived by her son Cody, his wife Jenni and grandchildren, Sophie, Emilia, and Henry, brothers Jody, Doug, and Tony (Kelli Radies) and sister Libbie (Rich Lapp), her mother Lorrie Thunker and many cousins, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews that all love her.
Preceding her in death are her husband Tim, father Verne, and Grandparents William and Leona Thunker and Charles and Elizabeth Eliason. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home of Kalispell is caring for the family.
