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Obituary
Rod, 70, died August 25, 2018, in Kalispell, Montana. He was born June 3, 1948. Rodrik grew up in the Swan River community on the edge of the wilderness in a log cabin with no electricity, no telephone and no indoor plumbing. To share his life, he had four siblings, 19 cousins and a close-knit community. Rodrik attended Swan River Grade School and graduated from Bigfork High School in 1966, where he participated in sports and other activities. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Montana State University. To pay his way through college, he worked as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service and had 48 jumps. He honorably served his country for two years in the U.S. Army. For most of his life, Rodrik worked as a machinist. When he was young, he and his twin brother, Henrik built many homes, churches and other buildings in the valley. Rodrik developed two passions as he got older. One was for golf and the other was participating in politics. He ran for office after one Flathead legislator proposed a bill for Montana to secede from the United States. Campaigning for office was difficult for him since he was a very private person. However, he was dedicated to preserving our democracy and felt he needed to be involved. Rod jumped at Missoula 1967-69 and 1972.
Identifier
Brosten_Rodrik-Einar_Missoula_1967
Publication Date
January 2021
Keywords
Smokejumping; Smokejumpers -- United States; National Smokejumper Association; Wildfire fighters; Obituaries
Disciplines
Forest Management
Recommended Citation
National Smokejumper Association, "Smokejumper Obituary: Brosten, Rodrik Einar (Missoula 1967)" (2021). Smokejumper Obituaries. 260.
https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_bios/260
