John Teigen

The funeral service for John O. Teigen, Jr. , 83, of Buffalo, SD will be 10:30 a. m. on Saturday, November 9, 2013, at the Harding County REC Center in Buffalo, SD, with Pastor Susan Fox officiating. Burial will take place in Little Missouri Cemetery near Capitol, MT. Public visitation for John will be at the REC Center one hour prior to the service. John passed away Monday, November 4, 2013, at Dahl Memorial Healthcare in Ekalaka, MT. John Oliver Teigen, Jr. , was born May 23, 1930, in the Camp Crook, SD, hospital to John Oliver Sr. and Madeline (Giacometto) Teigen. He spent his early years on the family ranch near Capitol, MT. He was a help mate to his father. John rode horseback to grade school. He attended High School in Belle Fourche and Ekalaka, graduating from Belle Fourche in 1948. In the fall of 1948, John attended Montana State College in Bozeman. He was a member of Phi Sigma Capa Fraternity, where he worked in the kitchen washing dishes and peeling spuds. He also worked at the Allen Theater as a door man, where he met his future wife, Dolores (Dodie) Hauser, who was working there as an usher. After two years of college, John’s formal education came to an end when he quit college and returned to the family ranch. He couldn’t forget about the pretty little gal in Bozeman. After a whirlwind courtship of 400 miles through the summer, John and Dodie were married October 28, 1951, in Bozeman. Three children were born to this union: John Oliver III, David Arnold and Joan Frances. John and Dodie went back to the ranch where they started their married life. After a few years on the ranch, John and Dodie moved back to Bozeman, where John became a tire re-capper. He followed this profession in Bozeman, Billings and Livingston and then back to Bozeman. After a few years in the recapping business, the ranching life called again and they returned to the family ranch. Tired of fighting the snow and mud and getting the kids to school, John started working for the Forest Service in Camp Crook, SD, in the early 1960s. John became involved with the Camp Crook Roping Club where he announced rodeos and judged the field. He also helped at the 4-H and high school rodeos in Buffalo. In 1970, John Oliver Teigen Sr. offered to lease John a portion of the Teigen ranch, with a herd of cows to go with it. The family moved back to the home where John grew up and they were in the cattle and sheep business for several years. In 1970, John began serving as a Conservation District Supervisor for Carter County, MT, which led to John being appointed to all the offices in the state organization and serving as president for two years. During this time, John represented Montana on the Northern Plains Regional Counsel and the National Association of Conservation Districts. John was appointed at the national level to the Soil and Water Stewardship Committee. During his years of service, he and Dodie attended many national conventions and lobbied in Washington D. C. After serving 20 years, he retired from the Conservation District. In the early 1990s, John and Dodie leased the ranch out to their son John III and started exploring the desert southwest. They purchased a fifth-wheel trailer and spent their winters in Slab City, CA, until the winter of 1999-2000 when Dodie became too sick to travel. Dodie died of cancer in May of 2000. John traveled to Slab City alone a couple winters in a converted Greyhound bus, until he could no longer drive the long distances due to failing eye sight. In 2004, he purchased a home in Buffalo where he has resided since. John liked to hunt and fish. While in the Bozeman area, he hunted elk in the Gallatin River drainages and fished the Yellowstone, Gallatin and Madison Rivers. In the 1960s, John went to Northern Canada three times for hunting and fishing trips and he was a successful harvester of a bull moose each year. Also in the 60’s, John accompanied Benny Padden, Jim Tom Padden and Willard Padden for a bear hunt on the Still Water River Drainage near Absorke, MT. He and Mike Boone went bull froggin’ in Kentucky and deep sea fishing off the shores of CA. John was very grateful to have good neighbors and friends, Clyde Becker and Zeke & Sue Litzel, who assisted him in many ways while living in Buffalo. John always considered himself a good story teller. He spent a large portion of his life telling and listening to good stories. Some of those he told were a little colorful for mixed audiences. Survivors include two sons: John (Sharlet) Teigen III & David (Lila) Teigen; one daughter: Joan (Steve) Becker; one daughter-in-law: Lucky Teigen; nine grandchildren: Tansie (Justin) Derner, Tennille (Tony) Straub, JO (Lisa) Teigen, Tana (Sid) Meyer, Tory Teigen, Lucas (Millisa) Teigen, Caleb (Jaime) Teigen, Matthew and Theresa Mueller; three step-grandchildren: Bret, Andy and Samantha Becker; 14 great-grandchildren: Rachel, Rebecca and Teigen Derner; Tucker and Madeline Straub; Emily and Addison Teigen; Jarrett, Kalen, Louise and Morgan Meyer; Alfred Schwalbe; Millena and Ruby Teigen; sister-in-law Jane Teigen; three nephews: Ivan (Mary) Teigen, Nate (Karen) Teigen and Matt (Tracy) Teigen; and two nieces: Marilyn Parfrey and Bridget Teigen. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dolores; parents, John Oliver Sr. and Madeline Teigen; brother, Harlie Teigen; and nephews, Will Teigen and Jedd Parfrey.


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Burial Date: November 9, 2013
Funeral Home Baker, MT

Funeral Service: Saturday: Harding County REC Center, Buffalo, SD