RIP: Hedvig Rappe-Flowers

Local Nordic skier, artist, mother, wife, and passionate community member Hedvig Rappe-Flowers died peacefully at her home in south Bozeman on January 4, 2007. Flowers faced her battle against cancer with strength and humor—she referred to her illness as a “major inconvenience”—and continued living life to its utmost up until the day she passed away. Hedvig was a prominent member of the community through her artist-in-residence programs at Hawthorne and Longfellow schools. Her famous painted-bowl line, which she aptly named, “Not Only a Bowl of Cherries” has been seen at many Bridger Ski Foundation auctions throughout the years, and her illustrations grace several children’s books, including the award-winning Spotted Bear. Her bright colors and mountain, nature, and animal subjects reflected Hedvig’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed outlook on life.

Hedvig was born in Sweden and moved to Montana in her early teens, where she met and married her husband Pat Flowers. The pair lived in Missoula until their move to Bozeman in 1999 with their two daughters, Erika and Natalie. It was Bozeman where Hedvig discovered her love for Nordic skiing, and in turn infected many fellow skiers with her smile and upbeat attitude. To honor her, several of her skiing friends conceptualized and executed the successful “pin-up” calendar Aged to Perfection, featuring local female athletes enjoying their life’s passions in the buff. Proceeds of the calendar are being donated in Hedvig’s name to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust’s “snowfill” project at the Bozeman City Landfill. The area will feature dog-friendly skiing, biking, running, and sledding trails, with one to be named after Hedvig.

The skiing trails and mountains that Hedvig and her faithful four-legged friend Satch frequented will miss her generous, giving, and considerate spirit, as will a community that benefited so greatly from her energy and love of life.