George "Bud" Eugene Courville
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George "Bud" Eugene Courville passed away on July 22, 2022 at the age of 89. He was born in Fargo, North Dakota to Alice Krojslok Courville and Tony Courville. The family lived in several cities in the northwest seeking work, including Wheeler, MT when the Fort Peck Dam was being built. They ended up in Bozeman where Alice managed the Bobcat Caf? and the Cottage Caf? (now called the Western Caf?) where Bud and his brother slept in the back room and peeled potatoes for hours. He went to the Emerson School and graduated from Gallatin County High School (the Willson School) in 1951.
He joined the Navy after graduation and served on several ships during the Korean War. He returned to Bozeman to earn a bachelor's degree in engineering from Montana State College (now MSU, class of '59). He earned extra money as a student worker helping build the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
He left Montana to go "back east" for a graduate degree with the intention to return, but he met Marjorie Grieser at a party in Pittsburgh, PA where she was a research assistant. They married a year later and moved to New Jersey where he taught physics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and earned his PhD from The Stevens Institute of Technology. He worked at the newly formed Department of Energy for two years and then moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee where he worked for the Oak Ridge National Labs. He ultimately served as Associate Director of the Energy Division for 20 years, retiring in 2001.
George was always active. He enjoyed playing golf and basketball. In retirement he continued doing consulting work on energy efficiency and volunteered to help people fill out their tax returns. He loved Montana and returned often.
George is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marjorie, his son George "Bud" Courville (MSU class of '88), two daughters Karen Torres and Katheryn Johnston, his cousin Julie Gibson in Billings, and five grandchildren: Jameson, Samuel, and Madeline "Molly" Courville, and Harrison "Hank" and Ameilia "Mia" Torres.
He is preceded in death by his mother Alice Courville Jelley and her husband George "Kip" Jelley, his father Anthony "Tony" Courville, his brother Charles "Sonny" Courville and his grandson Nicholas George Torres.