Richard Poitras

Richard Allen Poitras, 81, passed away Thursday, December 25, 2025 at Hope Hospice of natural causes.

He was born November 3, 1944, in Missoula to Edmund and Geneva Poitras. Richard joined his sister Carol and siblings Ed and Janis followed. He made life long friends at Franklin Grade School and Missoula Co. High School, graduating in 1962. Richard served in the Air Force from 1962-1966.

Richard married Janice Smith in 1968 and in 1970, his daughter, Tiffany, was born. He divorced in 1973. In 1982, he married Betty Nash and welcomed step-sons Scott and Chad into the family.

His innate curiosity and intelligence kept him active for the entirety of his life, and his thirst for knowledge manifested in Bachelors degrees in both Microbiology (1969) and Computer Science (1981) from the University of Montana. Fearless in experimentation and pragmatic to a fault, he once said, “I am determined that I can tackle any task...just not always successfully.”

Always a man who favored experiential understanding over anecdotal education, throughout his life he worked in landscaping; as an orderly; with his brother Ed in construction; he taught math and science; worked in the Zoology department and computer center at UM; and was programmer and computer consultant for Semi-Tool, Historical Research Associates, and Litigation Abstract until “retirement.”

A true Renaissance man, he was as comfortable turning a lathe as he was at his computer. He skied, sailed, camped, hiked, and enjoyed ATV adventures with his friend, Dave. His love of photography dovetailed perfectly with his expertise in computing. He was active in the Rocky Mountain Photo Club. A plane and pilot's license allowed him to expand his photography and computing. He became a certified SCUBA diver and later took up golf with some of his life-long buddies. He loved hiking with the Mission Mountain Monks.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, and niece Lynne.

His survivors include his, wife, Betty; daughter, Tiffany, New Hampshire; step sons, Scott (Sandra), Aurora, CO, Chad (Jamie), Bozeman, MT; and his three beloved granddaughters, Mackenzie, Westby, and McCall. He is also survived by his brother, Ed (Lynn), Missoula and several nieces and nephews (Ashley, Donald, Matt, Casey, Chris, Kellan, Cindy and Jerry).

                                                                                    Celebration of Richard's life

The family of Richard Poitras are planning a celebration of his life on Monday, May 4, 2026. It will take place at the Meadowlark Picnic Shelter from 12:00-3:00pm. The Meadowlark Picnic Shelter is located off of South Ave, near Missoula Community Hospital, at the Fort Missoula Park Complex.