William “Winston” Shortridge, 73, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Cremation has been entrusted to Croxford Funeral Home.
Winston was born February 15, 1953, in Great Falls, MT to Willaim and Mary (Marshall) Shortridge. The family moved to Augusta along the Fairfield Bench in the late 1950’s, where he attended local schools, before they moved back to Great Falls in the late 1960’s. He graduated from CMR in 1971. He began his college education at MSU in Bozeman, before transferring to U of M in Missoula. He was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business.
While attending CMR, Winston met and was enamored by Kris Kronovich, but it wouldn’t be until 1998 when they came together again, marrying in Great Falls on Oct. 7, 2000, a full 29 years after their first encounter in high school.
At the beginning of his work history in Great Falls, Winston worked for a couple title companies; Guaranty Title Co from 1978 to 1979, then as manager at the Cascade Abstract Title Co from 1979 to 1981. His next position would take him to Midland, TX where he worked as a Land Man for Arbustro Energy, overseeing and assisting in oil and gas leasing in the United States from 1981 to 1984. He returned to Great Falls in 1984 to manage the operations of the Great Falls Motel, Inc until 1986, when he moved to Bozeman to work as an Asset Manager for Doan Western Co. In 1988 he returned once again to Great Falls and began his final career, working for Northwest Management as the Vice-President/Secretary and then President, right up until his passing.
Winston loved attending rodeos and gave great thought and talk about participating. His Dad always said, “Son, if you have any big thoughts of ever getting to the NFR, you’d better just plan on buying a ticket”. He soon realized he had just as much fun watching and retelling others about it.
Survivors include his beloved wife, Kris; two stepchildren, Cori and Dustin; sister, Carla; brother-in-law, Carroll; three nieces and one nephew, Stacy, Julie, Shannon and Brad.
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