Terry Ward Fong, 88, of Helena

Terry Ward Fong, 88, Helena, MT, died May 30, 2025 at home with his wife, Dixie, by his side. Terry’s Funeral Service will be held at 12:30 pm MDT, June 9, at Anderson Stevenson Wilke & Retz Funeral Home, Helena. Interment will follow at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort William Henry Harrison at 3:00 pm MDT. Visitation will be held just prior to the memorial service.

Terry was born March 1, 1937, in Medora, ND to Einar P. and Carzella (Zella) M. (Connell) Fong. As the family grew, the Fongs eventually moved to Belfield, ND where they settled and raised Terry and his six siblings. Terry was the middle child of a very busy and active family. His disciplined and hardworking parents along with his older siblings Ruth, Gene, and Janice kept Terry on his toes, and he was an adoring role model for his younger sisters Bonnie, Greta, and Cherilyn.

Terry attended grade school in Belfield and graduated from Belfield High School. While in school, Terry had a variety of interests, talents, and jobs. Like his six siblings Terry enjoyed music and played trumpet in band and sang in the choir. He became known as Froggy for his frog voice imitation that he was called upon to perform regularly around the community. In small towns like Belfield all kids get to contribute, so even with his small stature, Terry played on the basketball team and was known for his quickness on the court.

At an early age, Terry was hard working. He earned money delivering milk to the residents of Belfield from the nearby dairy, setting pins at the bowling alley, working at the gas station in town, and helping keep the area coyote and magpie populations down by hunting them for their bounty.

Terry also enjoyed working cattle in the spring and summer months on his uncle Less Connell’s ranch near Medora, ND. Often on horseback, Terry enjoyed helping round up, moving, and branding Uncle Less’s herd. Terry even owned a few cattle for a short period of time and acquired his own registered brand in North Dakota, T/F, which is still registered in North Dakota today.

As much as he enjoyed it, cattle ranching wasn’t the life for Terry, and in 1957 he enlisted in the United States Air Force, completing basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. This was the beginning of Terry’s distinguished and rewarding military career resulting in 40-plus years of dedicated service to our country.

Not long after enlisting, Terry married Donna Lee Braxmeier, of Dickinson, ND, in 1957 and they immediately started a family. As Terry’s Air Force career took them to air bases in the area like Fort Worth, TX and Burns Flat, OK, daughters Connie and Kelly were soon born. Even though life in Texas and Oklahoma was very different than what they were accustomed to in North Dakota, with a combination of love and will power, Terry and Donna Lee embraced their new surroundings and together they successfully established their young family. Still, Terry and Donna Lee enjoyed visits from their parents and friends to remind them of their home in North Dakota.

Daughter Ruthie soon was born about the same time Terry took his next assignment at Glasgow Air Force Base in Glasgow, MT. They welcomed the move as it allowed the family to get back closer to home and family. Terry enjoyed his years in Glasgow and getting back to enjoying the outdoors again, hunting antelope and waterfowl common to the area.

With the impending closure of Glasgow Air Force Base, Terry left the Air Force and joined the United States Department of Army as a civil servant simultaneously joining the Army Reserves. Terry’s first assignment was managing Reserve units based out of the Army Reserve center in Great Falls, MT, resulting in the family moving to Great Falls, MT in 1965, where Terry, Donna Lee and their three girls settled and put roots down. Soon, first son Ward was born, followed by Cory.

While in Great Falls managing Reserve units based there, Terry’s military career and leadership roles expanded, and he was regularly promoted. In 1981, after all three girls had graduated from high school, Terry left his post in Great Falls and moved the family to Helena, MT to take on a similar role, where his career continued to advance. When Helena-based Army Reserve units were deployed to support Operation Desert Storm in 1990, while not deployed himself, Terry played an essential role in supporting the families of the troops who were deployed.

Throughout his military career, Terry became an influential and sought after advisor to unit leaders, commanders and generals. Terry achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 before finishing out his distinguished military service in the Army Reserves and eventually retiring from his civil servant role with the Department of Army in 1997.

In 1992, after a two-year fight with cancer, Donna Lee passed away. Terry and Donna Lee were married for 35 loving years. While work kept Terry busy after Donna Lee’s passing, he found himself lonely and still seeking companionship. Terry soon met Dixie Harshberger, who had recently relocated to Helena, and their romance began.

Terry and Dixie enjoyed playing golf together, Dixie exposed Terry to new activities, including walking annually in the Montana Governors’ Cup, attending the annual Symphony Under the Stars Concert hosted at Carroll College, becoming active in Helena’s Farm in the Dell, and traveling to nearby places like Fairmont and Chico Hot Springs for weekend get-aways. In 1996 Terry and Dixie were married.

After Donna Lee’s death in 1992, and with loving support from Dixie, Terry became the primary advocate and champion for his daughter Connie throughout her challenging life. This was a role Terry took very seriously until Connie’s death in 2023.

After retiring in 1997 Terry stayed active. He was not one for sitting around. Along with the activities Terry and Dixie enjoyed together, he loved playing golf with his family and friends, having coffee, often multiple times a day, with his former military buddies and the family he made at the Golden “Nugget,” following Carroll College Saints football and Montana college sports in general, traveling to see family and friends, and tinkering around his yard and home. Terry loved life and enjoyed sharing his love of life with others.

Terry is survived by his second wife of 29 years, Dixie Fong; his children, Kelly (Fong) Michel and her husband Brent, Ruthie (Fong) Suess and her husband Jim, Ward Fong and his wife Alma, and Cory Fong and his wife Cecily; his sisters Ruth Hickey and Greta Nelson; his grandchildren, Eric Michel and his wife Rachel, Katie (Michel) Reilly and her husband Devin, Tyler Suess and his partner Kate Stevens, Zach Suess, Jennie (Phillips) Thomason and her husband Ryan, Kyle Phillips and his wife Jodie, and Conrad Eggers and his wife Rachel; his great grandchildren, Natalie and Lauren Michel, Holden and Trace Reilly, Lincoln and Finley Thomason, Zella Phillips, and Liam Eggers; Dixie’s children, Vicki Pratt and her husband, daughter and grandchildren, Russ Harshberger and his wife and son, Greg Harshberger and his wife and children, Mike Harshberger and his children, and Chris Harshberger and his children; numerous nephews and nieces; and too many good friends to mention.

Terry was preceded in death by his first wife Donna Lee (Braxmeier) Fong; his daughter Connie Fong; his parents Einar and Zella (Connell) Fong; brother Gene Fong; sisters, Glenda Fong, Bonnie (Fong) Howard, Cherilyn (Fong) Sorum, Janice (Fong) Williams; brothers-in-laws, Danny Nelson, James (Estel) Williams, Arlen Sorum; nephew Allen Sorum; and too many good friends to mention.

In memory of Terry, please consider making contributions to Carroll College Athletics and Westmont, both in Helena, MT.

Service Schedule

Memorial Service

12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Monday June 9, 2025

Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

3750 N. Montana Avenue

Helena, Montana 59602

View map

Reception

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Monday June 9, 2025

Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

3750 N. Montana Avenue

Helena, Montana 59602

View map

Burial with Military Honors

3:00 p.m.

Monday June 9, 2025

Montana State Veterans Cemetery- Fort Harrison

3550 Heroes Road

Fort Harrison, Montana 59636

View map

Share

Send flowers

Please visit the floral shop page for assistance in choosing a local florist.

Photo Gallery

No photos have been submitted yet.
Click here to share yours.