Ray K. Swindler

HAMILTON - Ray Swindler, 93, of Hamilton passed away Wednesday, January 25, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona.

“I’ve been a farmer and rancher my whole life”, “I was born 12 miles out in the countryside.” If you knew Ray you heard him say these things.

March 23, 1923 Ray was born on the Swindler farm by Mott, North Dakota. He lived there till in the dust bowl years the family moved to Athol, Idaho where there were “feet” of snow, meaning moisture!  There Ray had his first collie, Lad, using him to herd the Holstein cows. He said Lad could clear a 4’ fence followed of course by Ray.

After Pearl Harbor, Ray enlisted in the Army, opting to stay on the ground instead of flying. Heights were not his favorite thing even though when young on the ND farm he would climb up to the 2 cupolas area and look out the hay loft!

Ray spent his 21st Birthday in Reading England training and waiting for D Day. Ray landed on Utah Beach 10 days after D Day and he said they were still being shelled. He was in the 962 Engineer Maintenance Co First Army under Omar Bradley. There were 5 men on his truck and they opted to stay together the whole time in Europe. They felt tied together as a group and did not want to break their luck. Working from a maintenance truck Ray said they never knew if they were back of the “lines” or on the Allied side. They just went where they needed to repair anything.

On Memorial Day 2015 Ray was awarded the Legion of Honor ~ Chevalier~ by the French government in recognition of his service to them during WW ll.  Upon returning to the U.S., Ray began his farming career. About 1956 he and his wife, “Pal” (Mildred Martin of Corvallis) bought and worked the S3 Ranch by New Leipzig N.D. Beef cattle, hogs, milk cows and chickens kept him very busy. Ray and Pal had the S3 for 17 years before returning to Missoula for a couple of years then moving to Hamilton. Ray and Pal were married for 45 years when she died in Hamilton.

Having farming still in his blood, when he and Pal moved to Hamilton he looked for a farm, hoping to find one in Choteau Co. where he had started 30 some years before. And he did! The wheat farm by Big Sandy was a perfect match for him. Winter wheat was what he loved to plant. The neighbors said they could tell when Ray started work by the plumes of black smoke coming out of the “dam” Case tractor. Eventually Ray got what he had always wanted a John Deere. When we were out on the road he would say,  “there’s a green machine “They know what to buy”

In 2002, Gert and Norbert Witschen introduced Ray to Patricia Ryan. And as they say history was in the making! After showing off your prowess in cross country skiing to impress me we went to Spokane so you could be checked out by my sister, Helen and our soul sister, Diana. It was a Thanksgiving event. You passed with flying colors and on the way home you proposed again as we stood on the bank of the Clark Fork river. Yes, I said. We were married in a most memorable ceremony and reception on May 24, 2003 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Hamilton.

Didn’t we have fun going to the farm Ray. You and I and Mikey (your 85 lb collie lap dog)  could walk to our hearts content and still have more space left for the next day. Checking out the wild flowers, birds (you could spot birds so well) looking for any muleys or white tail deer or antelope and checking out what the crop looked like.

Horses, horses, horses. If you knew Ray you knew he loved horses. I have had some of the best horses ever. Ginger at the S3 (you could feel the wind whistling past you when she ran) and in Montana Red, Slick and Casey. Ray alone and uncountable times with Tom Ford and other buddies rode hundreds maybe thousands of miles in the Bitterroot Valley and the Big Hole. Those two must know every trail in this valley. Thanks Ray for having me along on some of those adventures.

Thank You Ray for the past 14 years spent in close companionship. So, much laughter, bicycling, skiing, hiking and birding, horseback riding, golfing and times at the farm. We enjoyed all this together. Traveling  to Az. and spending the winter started when Ray wanted to be warmer during Montana’s  “chilly” season.  We could bike and golf all winter. Ray, were we any better at golf for all that? What fun, what a Wonderful man. How lucky and blessed I have been to have had you in my life!!

Remember how often we fell asleep holding hands? Well, the last time you went to sleep we were holding hands. This time you woke up in Heaven.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents Marian “Mike” and Hulda (Arvidson) Swindler, 6 brothers and 2 sisters, his beloved daughter, Joyce and many loved nieces and nephews

Ray leaves his much loved sister Viola Grose in Topeka Ka, Helen Swindler (Clyde deceased) Mott, ND, 2 granddaughters Mia (Mike) and Micky, 4 great granddaughters, his first wife Bernice and nieces and nephews he loves so much.  And, Patricia his wife, companion and love of the past 14 years.

Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, February 2nd at the Daly-Leach Chapel.  A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 3rd at St. Francis Catholic Church with Father Jim Connor officiating; Father Jack Darragh will give the homily.  Interment will follow at Corvallis Cemetery.  There will be a reception following the committal services at the Parish Life Center next to the church.