Ray E. Wolfe

Ray Ernest Wolfe, 84, of Hamilton passed away Saturday, December 24, 2011 at the Marcus Daly Hospice and Palliative Care Center. He was born March 20, 1927 in Newcastle, WY the son of Charles Adolph and Fannie Frances (Pettit) Wolfe.
- Ray was raised on the Wolfe homestead located on the Cheyenne River out of Newcastle. Their homestead cabin burned down when Ray was 6 years old. They moved to Newcastle after that.
- Ray attended school in Newcastle until graduating from the 8th grade. After school he herded sheep for $1.00 a day. Ray later became a baker in the local bakery. At this time he also repaired, traded and sold automobiles until 1948, when he went to work in the oil fields where he also learned to weld.
- On June 1, 1949 he married Helen Gladys Eatherton. He continued to work in the oil fields until 1957 when he set himself up with a portable welder and continued to weld in the oil fields, and through out his life.
- During his time in Wyoming, Ray was a hunting guide and was a very avid hunter his whole life.
- In the 1960's Ray started a repair wrecking and welding shop in Newcastle and remained there until moving his family to Anaconda in 1966. He went to work for the Anaconda Company and remained there for a year. He then went to work at the Berkeley Pit in Butte, becoming a boss after 3 months of being a machinist. Ray then started a car lot in Butte where he bought, traded and sold cars. Continuing with the car lot in 1974, Ray purchased "The TaToash", a fishing boat out of Aberdeen, WA, fishing for tuna for the next year. In 1975 he sold the boat, came back to Butte and sold the car lot and moved to Corvallis in 1976. Ray bought a house moving business and operated that until 1986 when he retired because of his health. All the while buying horses, cars, trucks, etc, building cattle guards, which are still all over Wyoming and Montana, including forest service lands, Ray spent every hunting season in the woods.
- Ray was preceded in death by his parents and 6 brothers, Albert, Charles, Clarence, Lyle, Harold and Richard. He is survived by his wife of 62 A½ years, Helen, of Hamilton; his son, Gary (Pam) of Green River, WY; his daughters, Anita Wolfe of Hamilton and Kim (David) Fox of Corvallis; 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
- Services for Ray will be held in the spring.