Archives West Finding Aid

Leo A. Rhein, Jr. was born in Helena, Montana, on July 29, 1919. He spent all but three of his early years in Wolf Creek, Montana, and attended high school in Big Fork and Helena, Montana. He graduated from Helena in 1938. He continued his education at the University of Wisconsin from 1945 to 1947 and at the University of Montana from 1947 to 1950, graduating with a B.S. in Forestry.

In 1935, Rhein enlisted in the Montana National Guard, and he was called to active duty with the 41st Infantry Division in 1940. From 1942 to 1945, he served in the Pacific Theatre during which he attended the Officer Candidates School. He graduated with the rank of 2nd lieutenant in 1943. He was separated from active duty in 1945, but was later recalled to active duty in 1951. During his military career, Rhein was stationed at posts around the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. He retired from the U.S. Army with the rank LTC with the Corps of Engineers in 1968. Upon Rhein's retirement from the military, he worked for the Bureau of Land Management between 1968 and 1978. After his retirement from the BLM, he traveled around the United States and Canada.

Rhein was married to his wife, Claire, for 54 years. She was born in Dagsboro, DE., on Aug. 19, 1922, the daughter of Nelson and Viola Kassay. Claire served in the U.S. Navy during World War II in Washington, D.C., as yeoman first-class in Adm. Hyman G. Rickover's office, until honorably discharged in 1945. Claire then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she met and married Leo. She moved to his home state of Montana, where she attended the University of Montana in 1947. She was an Army wife from 1951 to 1968, living in Europe and the Caribbean, as well as numerous Army posts across the United States. They returned to Montana in 1967.

For years she was an active member of the Stevensville Historical Society and one of the authors of "Montana Genesis," published in 1971. She had a fascination for local and state history, as well as a great affection for and involvement in Fort Owen, located in Stevensville. In September of 1986, she was presented with the Montana Historical Society Trustees' Award for Contributions to Montana History. Beginning in 1974, the Rheins donated over 20 years of volunteer service to the K. Ross Toole Archives. Claire was the founder of the oral history program at the Mansfield Library and was active with the Stevensville Historical Society and the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.

The Rheins had nine children. Claire Rhein died on February 14, 2001, and Leo Rhein died on January 6, 2017.