Staff
Gillette Memorial Chapel and Walker Funeral Home are members of the Wyoming Funeral Directors Association, The National Funeral Directors Association and the Campbell County Chamber. The funeral homes participate in the Celebration of Life with NFDAQ, are proud sponsors and winners (2006) of the annual spelling bee for the Literacy Council of Campbell County, they participate in the local Trash for Trees event, host a planter for the community of Gillette, and are involved in various community churches, special events and organizations.
Our mission at both Walker and Gillette Memorial is to help families celebrate and commemorate life while mourning the loss of someone they loved. We provide caring, professional service to families experiencing a death, and serve families of all faiths and cultures with sensitivity and compassion.
Tom Walker
 Funeral Director/Owner
Tom Walker has been associated with the funeral industry since 1973, and worked for the original Noecker Funeral Home in Gillette in the early 1970’s.
Born and raised in Lovell, Wyoming, Tom attended Northwestern Community College and California College of Mortuary Science graduating in 1973. Tom has lived in Gillette and Sheridan for over twenty years. He is committed to serving the Gillette are for you funeral needs. Tom and his wife, LoisAnn have five daughters, four of whom are grown and live away. Their youngest daughter, Katie is in college.
Rita Mashak
 Certified FuneralService Practitioner
Born and raised in Bangor, Wisconsin and is a first generation funeral director that is proud to serve in the community of Campbell County. She has lived in Campbell County for almost thirty years. Rita has been a funeral director since 1992 and received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
Rita has served Campbell County as a deputy coroner for ten years. Rita has successfully completed the requirements for the Certified Funeral Service Practitioner (CFSP) this is awarded by the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, Inc. This achievement signifies a commitment to raise and improve the professional standards of funeral service practice and to pursue life-long learning. By completing annual requirements of academic, professional and community activities, this designation shows a devotion to the highest levels of ethical care and service to bereaved families.
Rita is certified in cornea and whole eye enucleation with the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, a past member of the Hospice of Campbell County and serves on the Campbell County Cemetery Board. She has three sons, and enjoys spending time with her family. Her passion is to garden, read, bike ride, travel and ski.
Nicole Johnson
 Certified Funeral Service Practitioner
Nicole known to most people as Nikki, Nicole grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota and graduated from Bismarck High School, and graduated from Mount Hood School of Mortuary Science in 1996. Following graduation, Nikki worked as an apprentice and received her training in Glendive, Montana. She continued working there as a Funeral director for some time before moving to Terry, Montana and then Gillette in 1999. Nikki has been working as a funeral director here in Gillette, since 2001.
Nikki and her husband Cole have two daughters: Sierra and Rio. She attends Westside Baptist Church, is a volunteer at the Heritage Christian School and active with several of her children’s activities. Nikki is a current board member of the Wyoming Funeral Directors Association.
Kevin Reid
 Funeral Director
Kevin was born in Williston, North Dakota and grew up on his family’s farm and ranch in Poplar, Montana. He graduated from Sidney Senior High School (Montana) in 1993 and enlisted in the United States Air Force. Kevin was able to proudly serve our country for four years as an Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist. Kevin was deployed to Saudi Arabia two different times, for a total of ten months.
Kevin graduated from Mount Hood Mortuary School in Gresham, Oregon in 2000 and has been a part of the staff since 2006. He is a active member of St. Matthew's Catholic Church, the American Legion, and the American Legion Riders. In May of 2011 Kevin was nominated to the position of Finance Officer for the American Legion Post 42.
After Kevin’s father passed away in 1995, Kevin knew that he wanted to help grieving families through their difficult times, just as he and his family were helped at their difficult time.
Douglas Frost
 Funeral Director
Doug is a recent graduate of the Arapahoe Community College Mortuary Science Program, located in Littleton, Colorado. Originally form Nampa, Idaho, Doug graduated from Nampa High School and worked as a small business owner and custodian for a number of years before deciding to make funeral service his career. After working a short internship in Boise, Idaho he moved his family go Gillette to join the staff at Gillette Memorial Chapel in July of 2008.
Doug and his wife Anne have two sons, Kenny and Randall; and one daughter and son-in-law, Arisa and Danny McRoberts. They also have three grandchildren: Jake, Tiffany and Nick. Doug enjoys practicing Martial Arts and coaching Youth Football and Wrestling.
Lori Manitz
 Office Manger
Lori and Dan have one son, Justin, who is the light of their lives. The couple and their son moved to Gillette, Wyoming in 2000. Lori started working for Gillette Memorial Chapel in 2002. The Manitz family is involved in Special Olympics throughout Wyoming and Minnesota, and Lori is an avid horse lover. Lori is able to help families personalize their loved ones’ service, and she truly enjoys serving families through a very difficult time in their lives.
Kathy Bridges
 Office Manager
Kathy grew up in northern Minnesota and graduated from Mahnomen High School. She received her Lab, X-ray and business degree in Minneapolis and moved to Gillette in 1960 to work for one of only three local doctors at that time.
Kathy and Jim along with their two children and ten grandchildren called Gillette home since 1961, watching the town grow from only 3500 people to the current size of 42,000. After Jim’s passing in 2006, hoping that in some small way she could help other grieving families through a difficult time, Kathy became a part of the Gillette Funeral Service in 2007, moving to the Walker facility in 2008. She’s an active member of St. Matthews Catholic church and enjoys spending time with family, gardening and sewing.
Kathy Williams
 Preneed Specialist
A native of Powell, Wyoming, Kathy graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1987 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Parks & Recreation Administration and Criminal Justice. For eleven years, she worked for the National Park Service as a Park Ranger in some of the most beautiful parks in the world. In 1999, she began working for the Division of Criminal Investigations and Substance Abuse Division. She assisted the Governor’s Board in bringing Drug Courts into the State of Wyoming.
From 2001 through 2010, she served as the administrator of a Drug Court. During this time, she also began teaching at the Gillette Community College as a Criminal Justice instructor. Kathy’s energy and enthusiasm have led to some interesting accomplishments: a 6-month back-pack journey through Europe in 1998 that began in Italy and finished in Norway, and a successful 2010 campaign to help a dear friend become the governor of the great state of Wyoming.
She brings a wonderful and varied background to her role as the pre-planning specialist at Gillette Memorial Chapel and Walker Funeral Home. She has a deep appreciation for life, and considers it an honor to assist individuals and families as they determine their final wishes. In addition to the marriage she shares with her husband, Forrest, Kathy’s other passions include God, traveling, hiking in the mountains, downhill skiing, and reading good books.
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