Clarence Orla Bras

Clarence Orla Bras passed away on February 24, 2024, and is survived by his second wife Sally; his four children, Clancy, Jeff, Christina and Cara Lena; and four stepchildren, Eddie, Jackie, Chris and Scott. He has 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Clarence was one of six children born on February 16, 1941, to the late Lando and Lucille Flemming Bras. His sisters, Donna, Lois and Marylou and brothers Bud and John still reside in Western Montana.

He was quite the character and was always laughing and joking around and would often jump out of the woods from behind a tree like a grizzly to scare family and friends while hiking and camping which he found to be hilarious. He would also, on occasion wake the family up at 5 or 6 am crowing like a rooster or mooing like a cow to get us up and running for the day which he also found comical.

He graduated from Arlee Montana High School and married Carol Andrews in the early 1960's. Together they and their 3 children worked the land and planted cherry and apple orchards, fruit and veggie gardens, a Christmas Tree Farm and visualized and built "Bras Village and Gardens" on a 25-acre vacant piece of land where The Miracle Of America Museum and many other businesses have since been erected. They also planned and designed two beautiful homes overlooking Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains.

Clarence was a visionary who thought outside the box. He worked hard but enjoyed playing just as hard at ping pong, slap hands, racketball and he was a champion at "Spoons" who would light up the table at family gatherings jumping around and smacking the table to fake people out and then he'd laugh and laugh...He could often be heard singing "The Big Bopper" and Elvis and Dean Martin tunes, which he was quite good at.

Clarence married Sally Jungers in 1993 and they lived in the Coeur D'Alene, ID, area where they started the business "Bras Vinyl Repair" that they successfully owned and operated for many years. They moved back to Montana in the past few years to be closer to family.

The family is planning a memorial event in Lonepine for Clarence on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at 1 p.m. at the Lonepine Hall. Interment is at the Murray Memorial Cemetery.