The family of NorthWestern Energy gas serviceman Jim Hilton, who was killed in an explosion in Columbia Falls last week, has created a memorial fund thorough Energy Share of Montana.
The fund will help natural gas customers in the Flathead Valley who are struggling to pay their heating bills.
Shirley Hilton says her husband loved his job, but he hated having to shut customers off because they could not pay their bills. She says the fund will help those customers.
Contributions to the Jim Hilton Memorial Fund through Energy Share are tax deductible and NorthWestern Energy and Energy Share will each match the first $5,000.