Alex Collie Sr.

Funeral Service for Alex Collie Sr. 97, of Baker, MT, will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Stevenson Funeral Home, Baker, MT.  Burial will follow at Bonnievale Cemetery, Baker.

Family will be present to great friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 31, 2025 at Stevenson Funeral Home, Baker, MT.

Alex passed away on January 25, 2025 at St. Vincent Medical Center in Billings.

Alex George Collie was born on January 19th, 1928 at Ismay Montana. I was the sixth and last child born to David & Edna (Marshall) Collie and was named after my father’s two brothers, his twin brother Alex and his older brother, George. My father came from Scotland and my mother came from Wisconsin. I grew up on land that my mother homesteaded in 1910 along Fallon Creek.

I attended the Mackenzie school which was four miles north of our place near the Mackenzie Post Office and rode horseback all the years I attended. There was no school when I was in the third grade as there was not enough pupils, so I went to Plevna along with three of my older sisters. The schoolhouse was moved closer to my home on land owned by the Fultons. I finished the eighth grade there, then attended the first two years of high school at Ismay. I finished my junior and senior years in Baker and graduated from Baker High School in 1946. I loved playing basketball – my senior year we won our district’s championship.

As a young man, I helped my parents on the ranch and also worked for neighbors off and on. I also worked at the Ford Garage one winter and played basketball on the Baker Town Team.

On April 17, 1949, Easter Sunday, I married my high school sweetheart and the love of my life, Lois Bucklin, at the Community Church in Baker. We have lived on my parents ranch all of our lives and have more than doubled the size. We started out raising Hereford cattle and sheep but switched to all Angus cattle in the 60s and 70s.

Lois contracted polio in 1952 and spent the next 5 months in the hospital in Miles City. She lost the use of both legs and therefore spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Our son, Alex Jr., was born while she was in the hospital. Lois passed away on December 12, 2007 and is buried at the Bonnievale Cemetery in Baker.

We made many improvements on the ranch over the years and I continued to live in the house that Lois and I spent our lives together in. Our son Alex Jr has taken over management of the ranch now.

I was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt deer, antelope and coyotes. Over the years I was able to take many trophy’s and even bagged a small elk in Western MT one fall. I also helped many good friends bag their game and enjoyed every minute.

In the fall of 1946, the County Agent, Gene Hoff, asked if I would be superintendent of Crops and Vegetables at the Fallon County Fair as the older gentleman, Albert Fost, wanted to retire. I accepted the job and spent the next 43 years in that capacity. 

I also have been a Cooperative weather observer since 1950 and have taken many, many precipitation measurements over the years. I have been fortunate enough to win every award the weather bureau has to offer. They told me that I have been with the weather service longer than anyone in Montana.

Junior remembers Dad as a very hard worker and could do and fix almost anything. He was always willing to help anyone who asked for help. Dad baled thousands of square bales for neighbors and helped stack them. He was always trying to improve the place and make it better for his family. Mom and Dad were married for 58 years and were always there for one another whenever one of them needed help. He instilled in his son that you always keep your word and if you borrow something you always return it in better shape than when you borrowed it.

Alex is survived by his son, Alex Collie Jr and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by a very special young lady, Jessie (Rich) Batterman, whom he considered to be his granddaughter and she considered him to be her grandpa.

Alex was preceded in death by his wife, Lois. He was also preceded in death by his brother David and sisters Mary Mackay, Vivian Celander. Daisy McNaney and Goldie Sparks, along with their parents.