Coming Soon

Dave, Kerry, Spencer, Will and Kate Strike

As I have grown to know Kerry Strike over the past 5 or 6 years I have thought of her as the consummate athlete. "Oh, I'm not athletic," she said and that really got my attention. Kerry was born in Craig, Colorado. Following her fathers death when Kerry was 15 months old and her sister was a month old, her mother moved back to Dillion, MT to be closer to family. On Kerry's fifth birthday, her mother remarried and the new family moved to Helena, MT, where Kerry remained through high school. College was at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where Kerry graduated with a BS in Exercise Physiology. After graduation, Kerry moved to Seattle to work as a personal trainer. Shortly after getting married, Kerry and her husband moved back to Montana. A year after moving to Montana, Kerry started graduate school at the University of Montana, and the marriage dissolved. During summer break from school, Kerry took at job at Breteche Creek Ranch on the North Fork and met Dave Strike, a 1989 graduate of Cody High School. Kerry finished up her masters program and returned to a job at Breteche Creek and Dave. In May 1998 they were married. They started Dave Strike Custom Building, Inc. in 2000. "Building is innate for Dave. He loves it and is incredibly talented," said Kerry. While he's on the job, she manages other aspects of the business. Their three children, all born in Cody, are: Spencer, age 8, who is entering 3rd grade at Livingston School and particularly likes math and climbing; Will, who is 7 and will enter 2nd grade and likes math and hopes to play football; and Kate the Great, who is nearly 5 and will enter kindergarten at "her boys' school". She was too shy to tell me what she likes but whatever it is I hope she is on my team. Both Kerry and Dave were raised in Roman Catholic homes, but Kerry has discovered she is more comfortable in the Episcopal Church. To fill her spare time she has a small business, 3-kid-chaos, designing and creating invitations and announcements. As for her ideal day that is easy - a good mountain bike ride followed by a good road ride. Who knows. Someday she may become an athlete!

The Morrisons- Scott, Gina, John and Katherine

This family’s reviving of a battered house and turning it into a thing of beauty seems to me to be a parable for Christian living. Scott is a Billings native- he graduated from West High. His mother is still living there. Gina grew up in Cody- the daughter of Dr. John Bluher and Carol Bluher
Armstrong. Gina moved to Seattle with her mother when her parents divorced- returning to Cody for her senior year in high school. It was after her second year at the University of Wyoming, where she was a middle school science education major, that she met Scott at a party at Valley Ranch. When she finished in Laramie, Gina student taught in Jackson and then she and Scott moved to Sun Valley, Idaho. Scott was a hunting and fishing guide. Gina taught science. They were married in Stanley, Idaho. Scott was mentored by 2 “real pros” in the graphic design field and has had his own office for 15 years now. His work being mainly digital gives him great flexibility as to residence. He works primarily with the firearms, Flyfishing, travel and law enforcement industries. Cody beckoned to them- the Taggart/Ballinger house was a great challenge- and so they moved here. Gina’s mother returned to Cody when Scott and Gina did, so she again lives in a town with both of her parents. Dave Strike Construction helped them revitalize their house and it is now a fine home. Gina does some substitute teaching. John, a fifth grader at Livingston School, is fine with the move- his loves in addition to art are rock climbing, skiing and mountain biking. Katherine, a fourth grader, loves small animals, misses the chickens and turkeys they had in Bozeman, and would like a horse. Her favorite subject is math. Scott has a varied church background while Gina was raised an Episcopalian. After some exploration they chose Christ Church as their faith home. They love the intergenerational friendships and the way of blending old and new lives. Just like their house. And yes- the house is for sale- life in the country has a strong appeal- but this family is here to live in Cody country.