Dear brother and sister, greatly missed. Still have a hard time going thru Missoula and resisting the urge to go by their old house! What a haven for traveling preacher. Wonder who has that big painting with the jackrabbit hiding under the sagebrush? :-)

Dear Gale... I've been thinking about you today as it would have been your 85th birthday . Remembering when mom baked cupcakes for my 14th and your 28th birthday to celebrate at youth group. Thank you for your  faithfulness to us kids and to the Lord in coming way up to the west end to teach us at youth group. You taught me so much. ..mainly to have my daily quiet time with Jesus. I'm remembering all the special times we had traveling up to PBI for spring missionary conference. Thank you and Mama Elsie for your love for so many years --I love and appreciate you both.

Gale Fister the best of the best,his teaching of the word was so easy to understand I enjoyed his sermons and love the ones that he add His own personal humor he will beAs he enter heaven,love this man and his wife,remember to pray for Elsie And thank you both for being the couple who love the lord.

"Just come on over to Missoula and I'll keep you busy for as long as you can stay!" Knowing Gale, I knew he meant it and could fulfill his offer. I spent a whole glorious week with the Fisters, sleeping on mattress in the attic of the shop and speaking in a different Bible Study, youth group or church service every night, all over his part of Western Montana. Don't think I'll live long enough to forget nor to thank God enough for his investment in my life and ministry.

Gale was the one person that could talk to me about my Lord Jesus and my faith in a way that I could understand, when I was growing up. His bible studies on Wednesday nights enlightened me to the possibilities of Gods love. Gale will be missed but by faith I will see him again. Thank you Gale. You were such an inspiration to every life you touched.

Gale was quite unique as a pastor. He was both a teacher and preacher at the same time. His messages appealed both intellectually and emotionally, which is why people felt he was talking directly to them. Note from Louis and Cary Levinson

Greg Fister remembers the family lunches after church and competing to see who could make the biggest ice cream cone.

It was Summer Camp 2008 when Gale and Steve Faucett were doing baptisms that I followed God's leading and was baptized along with my son. Cindy Baird

I can't put in to words how much I "absorbed" Gale's Message. It was like God my Father kissed me on the cheek. If I wasn't a christian already, I would have become one. god Bless you all. Mark Erikson

You wur a gud Great Grampa. I Love you Great Grandpa. Anikka

Elsie and Family,
I'm sorry this is so late, but I've been out of town.
I'm so sorry about the loss of Gale. He was a wonderful man that had a profound effect on me, my family & my faith when we attended Lolo Church.
I know you miss him greatly, but he is with The King in Glory.
God bless you and all, and I pray for you all.
Dan and Sandy Worrell
(gift given to Camp Utmost in Memory of Gale)

Dear Fister Family,
We have such fond memories of Gale and his ministry. It started with him coming to St. Regis High and met with young people in Tom's class.
Soon he was coming out for an adult Bible study - a summer VBS and eventually a lovely little church developed and built in St. Regis!
Heaven has received a real warrior and it makes Heaven even more precious as we wait our turn to "go home".
Tom & Deanna Warwick

To the Family of Gale Fister;
I was saddened to hear of Gale's passing, but rejoice that he is in his eternal home that he spoke so often about with eagerness.
It was my wish to attend the memorial service in Missoula on March 22, but it was not to be. 
I choose not to venture out on bad roads and we seem to continue to be plagued with them this year.
I had hoped to visit and reminisce with friends from Camp Utmost days & Garrison Youth Fellowship and Sunday school and of course, all the VBS weeks.
I also hold in fond memory the trip to PBI with the Fisters and Jacksons along with Wes Seng, Joy Bain and Linda Rippingale and Don Rust. So many memories, which will live on as will all the good work that Gale did in so many communities and lives!
God Bless him and God Bless you all!
Sincerely,
Lorraine Pomeroy Watson (via a letter to the family)

To Gale Fister Family,
We just want you to know your Dad was very much loved by our family. 
Your Dad & Mom were such a blessing to us. We will never forget the good times at "Camp Utmost" and the hunting trips with us in Lima, MT.
We are rejoicing with you now that he is home with his Lord.
We keep your Mom in our prayers and all of you.
May the Lord bless & comfort you as only He can at a time like this.
Love in Him,
Wayne & Karen Beard and family (via a letter to the family)

In Loving Memory of Rev. Gale Fister.
Pastor Fister and his work through Camp Utmost and RMBM were instrumental in my salvation and consequential Christian walk.
Undoubtedly, he was one of the most influential men in my life.
His dedication and the sacrifice of his family to provide youth meetings and camp experiences for young people in the rural areas of Western Montana and Eastern Idaho were the major 'church' experiences for many young people in the late 60's and 70's. 
Also the VBS's were a source of spreading the gospel and Christian training.
I am personally 'eternally' grateful for his (and the family's) faithful service.
In His Great Love,
Mary Ann Watkins Remington (via a letter to the family)

To Gale's Family & Friends,
What a legacy Gale has left to so many!
His youth groups, his work with kids at Camp Utmost (including mine), continuing to influence their lives into adulthood, like doing my son's wedding and so much more!
I would love to be at the service but I have a previous commitment I have to keep.
I praise the Lord that He set Gale free and he is in His presence!
in His love,
Nancy Hebner (via letter she sent to our family)

My husband and I came to Lolo in 1963 and started going to
Sunday School at a little white church with our two children.
On Sunday evenings Gale came with his family and preached.
It was a blessings to us to hear the Word preached and we
grew in our spiritual lives. As the church grew---there was not
enough room and the building now used was built and many
came to the Savior and lives were changed,
   Gale never stopped with the true message and it was
obvious that he was called to tell the truth about Jesus, There
are many stories of those who never came to a meeting but
observed him and saw that it was real---he lived the life.
   This was an example of how God uses people--all kinds of
people for his Glory. What a Day that will be when we all
stand with the Lord and share in the blessings together.
Thank you Lord for sending Gale Fister to Montana!!

53 years marks the time I have known Gale. From day one he was a quiet powerful force in my life and I am certain he didn't even know it. He was committed to serving his Lord and Savior with his whole life. That is how it is when you are surrendered; you don't always know when God is speaking through you. I began to love and cherish the man, Gale, but I was also learning to love and cherish the God he spoke about.
Maybe thirty years ago I read a little poem and immediately Gale came to mind: "For years I listened to preachers who loved to preach, and then I heard a preacher who loved the people to whom he preached. The message came through loud and clear." I don't even remember specifics he taught in youth group (other than it always came straight from his Bible), but I always knew I was loved and accepted 'just as I am'. He taught me what my heavenly Father is like.
Then when my world came crashing down and divorce ripped my life apart and I thought I would die; I found the center of my life was solid because Gale taught "you can survive if Jesus is the center". It wasn't easy and I wanted to punch his face when he said many times after church "show your kids how a Christian handles pain"; but I knew he was right. We made it and we're stronger better people because God uses sorrow to purify us if we let Him.
He was human and that made the message even better. We have this treasure in earthen vessels...clay pots that easily crack. The light of the "treasure" shines through the cracks.
What a day that will be when we gather in that eternal city for the reunion of the ages!

Gale was an amazing man, his Godly influence touched my families' life from the moment we walked through the doors of Lolo Community Church back in 1983. My dad came back into a relationship with the Lord and within 2 months of attending went home to be with the Savior. Gale embraced my mom, Billye Ward, who with Lois Band Ray, started an amazing single's group that reflected Gale's passion of sharing The Good News and he celebrated what the Lord was doing through that group on a weekly basis. He loved my mom and I, it was evidenced weekly by the hugs we received from him and his willingness to help however he could with electrical needs around our home. Gale later went on to marry Bill and I, it meant so much to all of us. I know my mom was right at the gates of heaven ready to greet Gale with a great big hug when he arrived, she admired him so! We loved him and he will be missed but I am so grateful for the life he lived and the legacy he left behind, so many will be in heaven because of his sacrifices and obedience to the Lord. All our love! Nikki (Ward) Martins

Gale touched my life, influenced me, and taught me more about Jesus than I can ever express, or begin to thank him for. Thank you, Lord, for a life well lived! What a man of God!