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Plains Edition Obituaries

, 81 of Wilsall, Mont., died at his home April 16, 2006, after a courageous battle with cancer.

He was born Jan. 6, 1925, in Wilsall, Mont. The third child of Ray and Cora Virginia (Carr) Isbell. He grew up on the family ranch where he lived until the time of his death. He attended grade school at the Meyersberg country school through the fifth grade. He rode horseback to school on his welsh pony “Shirley”. Meyersberg was the first country school to consolidate with Wilsall and so from the sixth grade on He attended Wilsall schools. As a ten-year-old boy, he became involved in 4-H. He purchased his first 4-H steer with money he earned feeding bum lambs and a Holstein bucket calf given to him by a neighbor. Through his 4-H years he had many Grand and Reserve Champion steers and in 1940 he received an outstanding livestock 4-H youth award which earned him a trip to the Chicago International Livestock Show.

He purchased his first registered Hereford heifer in 1938. He and his father continued to build their herd of registered Hereford cattle while also feeding and showing bulls for several other breeders. He entered the United States Navy in 1945 and served during WW II with the Sea-bees in the South Pacific.

He married Gerry Lu Olsen on April 3, 1949, in Livingston, Mont.

Through the years he built one of the premier registered Hereford herds in Montana. He has sold registered seed stock to ranchers in many other states as well as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. He was honored for 50 consecutive years of showing cattle at the Montana Winter Fair. He was named Montana Hereford Man of the Year in 1983 and Park County Ranchers Hall of Fame in 1999.

He served on the board of directors of the Bozeman PCA. He was a 4-H leader for 15 years and secretary of the Park Farmers Co-op for 12 years. He held offices in the Park-Gallatin Hereford Association and was a member of Montana Wool Growers, the Shields River Rodeo and Racing Association, Montana Hereford Association, R-Calf, Montana Cattleman’s Association, Shields River Lutheran Church and the American Legion Post #0023.

Survivors include his wife, Gerry Lu of fifty-seven years; three sons, Loren (Shirley) of Veteran, Wyo; Wade (Sue) of Solen, N.D., and Garth (Robbie) of Cardwell, Mont.; one daughter, Shelley (Jay) Bailey of Clyde Park, Mont.; two sisters, Joan Roth of Livingston, Mont. and Fae Rooksberry of Butte, Mont.; grandchildren, Cash, Chance, Blake, Jerid (Toby) and Mariesa Isbell, Camri (Ken) Piwarski and Kira and Joshua Bailey; four great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister.

, 81 of Wilsall, Mont., died at his home April 16, 2006, after a courageous battle with cancer.

He was born Jan. 6, 1925, in Wilsall, Mont. The third child of Ray and Cora Virginia (Carr) Isbell. He grew up on the family ranch where he lived until the time of his death. He attended grade school at the Meyersberg country school through the fifth grade. He rode horseback to school on his welsh pony “Shirley”. Meyersberg was the first country school to consolidate with Wilsall and so from the sixth grade on He attended Wilsall schools. As a ten-year-old boy, he became involved in 4-H. He purchased his first 4-H steer with money he earned feeding bum lambs and a Holstein bucket calf given to him by a neighbor. Through his 4-H years he had many Grand and Reserve Champion steers and in 1940 he received an outstanding livestock 4-H youth award which earned him a trip to the Chicago International Livestock Show.

He purchased his first registered Hereford heifer in 1938. He and his father continued to build their herd of registered Hereford cattle while also feeding and showing bulls for several other breeders. He entered the United States Navy in 1945 and served during WW II with the Sea-bees in the South Pacific.

He married Gerry Lu Olsen on April 3, 1949, in Livingston, Mont.

Through the years he built one of the premier registered Hereford herds in Montana. He has sold registered seed stock to ranchers in many other states as well as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. He was honored for 50 consecutive years of showing cattle at the Montana Winter Fair. He was named Montana Hereford Man of the Year in 1983 and Park County Ranchers Hall of Fame in 1999.

He served on the board of directors of the Bozeman PCA. He was a 4-H leader for 15 years and secretary of the Park Farmers Co-op for 12 years. He held offices in the Park-Gallatin Hereford Association and was a member of Montana Wool Growers, the Shields River Rodeo and Racing Association, Montana Hereford Association, R-Calf, Montana Cattleman’s Association, Shields River Lutheran Church and the American Legion Post #0023.

Survivors include his wife, Gerry Lu of fifty-seven years; three sons, Loren (Shirley) of Veteran, Wyo; Wade (Sue) of Solen, N.D., and Garth (Robbie) of Cardwell, Mont.; one daughter, Shelley (Jay) Bailey of Clyde Park, Mont.; two sisters, Joan Roth of Livingston, Mont. and Fae Rooksberry of Butte, Mont.; grandchildren, Cash, Chance, Blake, Jerid (Toby) and Mariesa Isbell, Camri (Ken) Piwarski and Kira and Joshua Bailey; four great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister.


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