Arthur Sather, 88, of Baker, passed away Saturday, January 10, 2003 at Holy Rosary Health Care in Miles City. He was born on August 29, 1915 in Ollie, MT the son of Anton and Anna (Neset) Sather. Art grew up and attended school in the Ollie area. As a young man, he spent time in western Montana with the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). He was baptized at the Ollie Lutheran Church and confirmed there. Art devoted his life to farming and ranching with his brother Carl on the family homestead. He loved gardening and raising exotic cattle and was a member of The National Semintal Association. An article written by Glen Cameron describes the life of Art and his brother: ?This quarter section provides the sole source of livelihood for the homesteaders living there. Carl and Art, two handsome, sky-blue-eyed sons of Scandinavian immigrants, were born on the place and have taken their living from the dry land quarter all their lives. In the times of cash economy and consumerism, the brothers continue to get by much as their ancestors in Sweden would have done: shocked grain, hand labor, dividing their limited landholding into small plots for numerous subsistence uses. Their secret to persisting without other sources of income is simple and anachronistic. ? Glen continues, ?When leaving the Sather place, I always look back at the quarter section parceled into numerous plots for garden, pig yard, grain field, pasture and towering Norway pines planted by a Norse pioneer. My heart is warmed by the simplicity and humanity of two brothers living close to the land and its creatures, surviving every adversity, defying every reason for conceding to the superior forces of weather and economics. Where most, perhaps all others, have failed, two brothers have fashioned a stubborn and unique way of life on that original, ungenerous quarter section. ? Art married Irene Wigesaland in Fargo, ND on November 19, 1983. After retiring and selling the farm, Art moved to Baker with his wife Irene and brother Carl. Even after moving to town, Art & Carl still had their large garden and hauled their drinking water to town. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Irene; brother, Carl; sister, Inez Sather Krokker; half-brothers, Melvin Sather and Arthur O. Sather; and half-sister, Julia Sather Becker. Art is survived by his nephew, Kermit Krokker of Sheridan, WY; niece, Karen Krokker Day of Oroville, WA; nephew, Col. Richard Becker USAF-R of Fairfax, VA and their families; Irene?s children: Linda (Norman) Thompson of Baker; and Dennis (Judy) Bjorge of Fargo, ND; Irene?s grandchildren: Brad (Annie) Thompson of Baker and Brian (Samantha) Thompson and their families; and numerous nieces and nephews in North Dakota, Minnesota and Canada. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 13th from 9 AM to 9 PM in the Chapel of Stevenson Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be on Wednesday, January 14th at 11 AM at American Lutheran Church in Baker. Burial will follow in the family lot of Bonnievale Cemetery. Remembrance and condolences may be left for the family at stevensonfuneralhome. com. Stevenson Funeral Home of Baker are in charge of the arrangements.
Click to View Program (PDF)
Burial Date: January 14, 2004
Funeral Home Baker, MT
Funeral: Wednesday, American Lutheran Church