Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 1

A PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING NEWSPAPER NCAA finals Illinois to meet North Carolina in championship Skiing season let-down Abundance of hard luck means tough year for owners Business THT TT YTT1 SPORTS SECTION Bicentennial funding fails Boat checklist Battery, plug, safety gear be prepared for first outing ki No money coming to help with Signature Event 1M 1 7 Out About ti- lufi SUNDAY www.greatfallstribune.com No. 332 120th Year April 3, 2005 Great Falls, Montana $1.50 Lewistown (te punt aai timmsfr Guardsman MUCoJ DIM pp LJV John Paul II, 84, dies after long struggle The Associated Press dies in Iraq By S0NJA LEE Tribune Staff Writer A Montana Army National Guard soldier from Lewistown died Thursday in Iraq. Sgt. 1st Class Robbie McNary was killed during combat operations near the Iraqi town of Hawijah, said Maj. Scott Smith, public affairs officer for the Montana Army National Guard in Helena.

McNary, 42, was not killed by hostile fire, but the circumstances of his death will not be released until an investigation is completed, Smith said. In Lewistown, flags were lowered to half staff. Reader boards throughout the community spelled out messages of "Pray for Robbie's family." On Saturday, McNary's family and friends shared memories of a man they described as a hero who gave his all in everything he did. "He believed in what he was doing. He chose to go to Iraq to be with his soldiers," said Annette McNary, who married Robbie, her high school sweetheart, 24 years ago.

Robbie McNary, who was born in Cul-bertson, also is survived by his three children, Ryan, 24; Robert, 17; and Alyssa, 16. Ryan McNary is on active duty in the Guard and is stationed at Fort Riley, Kan. "Today a family lost a father, a husband, a son, and Montana lost a hero," Gov. Briafy Schweitzer said in a news Release issued Saturday. Robbie McNary was a platoon sergeant CoaJp'sny Qof the l-163rd Infantry Bat-' talioru.rie.had spent nearly 20 years of service in branches of the military, Annette McNary said.

Robbie McNary also spent six months in Bosnia with the Guard. "Sgt. 1st Class McNary was a fearless leader who always led from the front. He was personally responsible for many of our task force successes since we arrived and began conducting operations in Iraq," said Lt. Col.

John Walsh, battalion commander. "He was an excellent soldier and leader who always performed in a professional, courteous and efficient manner." Cindy Jaynes, a longtime family friend in Lewistown, said Robbie McNary was a loving husband and father. He also loved VATICAN CITY Pope John Paul II, who helped topple communism in Europe and left a deeply conservative stamp on the church that he led for 26 years, died Saturday night in his Vatican apartment, ending a long public struggle against debilitating illness. He was 84. "We all feel like orphans this evening," Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the crowd of 70,000 that gathered in St.

Peter's Square below the pope's still-lighted apartment windows. A Mass was scheduled for St. Peter's Square for 10:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. MDT) today.

The pope's body was expected to be taken to St. Peter's Basilica no earlier than Monday afternoon, the Vatican said. See special section inside. KNIGHT-RIODER NEWS SERVICE A couple embraces in St. Peters Square at the Vatican after news of the death of John Paul II at 9:37 p.m.

Saturday. More than 100,000 people gathered in the square to remember the pontiff. Area Catholics pour out tears, prayers in grief Vfr-rv i See LEWISTOWN, 7A touched their lives. Parishioners also filled Holy Spirit Catholic Parish, as the Rev. Dick Schlosser delivered a tearful sermon.

The pope touched the lives of people on every continent, and his death is like losing a family member, Schlosser told the crowd. Those in St. Ann's remembered the pope as a humanitarian who wasn't afraid of obstacles. "For all of us, he has been a strong leader, a guiding light," said Milone, By S0NJA LEE Tribune Staff Writer Catholics around Great Falls gathered Saturday for a special Mass mourning the loss of Pope John Paul II but also celebrating a man of great faith and conviction. "We gather with Catholics throughout the world to offer our prayers," Bishop Anthony Milone told a crowd at St.

Ann's Cathedral. Every seat in the church was filled, as members of the congregation reflected on the many ways the pope Spring ahead Did you remember to set your clocks an hour ahead? ii 13 TRIBUNE PHOTO BY ROBIN L02NAK A black draping marking the death of Pope John Paul II blows in the wind over the main entrance to St. Ann's Cathedral in Great Falls Saturday. See GRIEF, 7A Pizza deliverer's 1985 unsolved murder scars family By KIM SK0RN0G0SKI Tribune Staff Writer v. Cold cases Other unsolved murders in Great Falls 4A Investigator Family is convinced that police officer can solve case 5A Delnita Davis clears dead leaves off the grave of her son, Morris, at the Manchester Cemetery.

Morris was the victim of an unsolved murder 20 years ago in Great Falls. "I never worried about him," Delnita said of her oldest son. "He was bigger sized, so I figured he could take care of himself." stymied. Pain and frustration continue to haunt the Davis family. Both Morris and Cliff Davis lived with their parents at home.

Morris, the older brother, tried unsuccessfully to get out of work that night delivering Howard's Pizzas so that he could attend a stag party. Within 20 minutes of the order coming in, Morris knocked on the front door of an abandoned house. He was shot trying to flee. Outside the house, he was shot again. He was dragged back inside, then executed.

At least eight shots from a .22 caliber gun were fired. The 23-year-old was dead before his paramedic brother arrived more than an hour later. if Showing the rookie stripes of someone on the job only a few months, Cliff Davis was anxious and a bit excited riding in the ambulance to his first shooting. It seemed like a movie. Police cars were in the middle of the street, doors left flung open by officers too hurried to close them.

Gear in tow, the 21-year-old paramedic ran inside the white house at 1015 6th Ave. N.W. The home was empty and dark but for the swirling police flashlights. A muddy For Sale sign leaned against a wall. As Davis rushed to where the man lay coated in blood, the light caught on the victim's boots.

"I knew they were the cowboy boots I gave (my Y- brother) for Christmas. I was at his feet and I started yelling out and I said, 'Oh my God, it's Morris. It's It was Good Friday, April 5, 1985. Morris Davis' death was one of seven murders that year an unheard of number for Great Falls. With no motive other than robbery, it was the only one that year to go unsolved.

Twenty years and hundreds of false tips later, investigators remain TRIBUNE PHOTO BY ROBIN LOZNAK See MORRIS, 4A iiiiriHiniii! Business Section Classified Section Comics Inside C2005 Great Falls Tribune A Gannett newspaper Crossword .2 Family 4 Movies 6M I Opinion 8-9A Chatter 6M USA Weekend Nation Sports 1-10S Celebrations I Montana 1-6M Obituaries 2M TV listings 10A Full weather report on BACK PAGE Today's Great Falls forecast ti High: 59 -Low: 34 fc Mostly cloudy, showers "SuvC i x. i. 1 1 r-m 1 1.