Dale Tolliver

Dale Howard Tolliver, 70, of Bozeman, Montana, passed away on December 15, 2023, from cancer.  Dale was born on January 9, 1953, to James L. and Helen W. Tolliver in Morton, Illinois. Dale graduated from Morton High School and was a standout high school tennis player. He enjoyed tennis throughout his life, and after his move to Bozeman he rediscovered ping pong as well, a game he also excelled at from an early age. If there was a game that required a paddle or racquet, Dale was good at it. He founded an independent bookstore on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1976 which he ran successfully for 23 years. Although independent bookstores were under pressure on many fronts, Horizon Bookstore successfully navigated the internet and large chains and only closed when the University redeveloped the area in which his store was located. During that time, he earned a BA in public administration from Upper Iowa University, and after the bookstore, he opened Tolliver Tax Service in Urbana which he ran for 11 years.

Dale married Judy Tsiang in 1983 and in 1990, Dale and Judy had a son, Kyle. Kyle was an excellent hockey player, and Dale and he drove thousands of miles throughout the Midwest for practices and tournaments. In 2015, Dale retired and moved to Bozeman, where Kyle and Judy, by then his ex-wife, lived.  He spent his time playing tennis and ping pong, following Cubs baseball, hanging out with his beloved dog Sunny, and with Kyle and his wife Lauren. He loved watching Kyle play hockey in Bozeman as he had all those years earlier. All who knew him describe him as a kind and gentle man and a loving father.  He was so pleasant to be around and loved to strike up a sports conversation. We will miss our dear Dale.

Dale is survived and dearly missed by his son Kyle (Lauren) of Bozeman, brother Mark Tolliver (Cindy) of Saratoga, California; lifelong best friend and ex-wife Judy Tsiang of Bozeman and her sisters Christine Stenger of Santa Rosa, California, and Sarah Tsiang of Richmond, Kentucky, his nieces and nephew Elizabeth Tolliver of Portland, Oregon, Maggie Valenzuela of Sebastopol, California, Anne Saint Amant of Berkeley, California, Katarina Starcevic of Richmond, Kentucky, and Mira Stenger and Luke Stenger of Santa Rosa, California.  He was predeceased by his parents, James and Helen Tolliver.

The family of Dale Tolliver requests that contributions be made to Bozeman Health Foundation, 931 Highland Blvd., Suite 3200, Bozeman, MT 59715.

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