Bill Gardner McIlvain
December 16, 1936 – November 10, 2023
Billy (Bill) Gardner McIlvain passed away at his home in Huntley, Montana, at the age of 86. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, as well as a loyal friend.
He was born in Big Spring, Texas, in 1936 and grew up on the Wilkinson Ranch (Cross F), near Natural Dam Salt Lake, where his father worked as the ranch foreman. Alongside his father, Bill
worked cattle, rodeoed, and learned to manage the ranch. His elementary years were spent in a one-room schoolhouse, to which he sometimes rode the 4 ½ mile distance on Ole Paint, the pony. During high school he was active in FFA, 4-H, basketball, track, and rodeo.
Bill was elected student-body president at Howard County Junior College before transferring to Texas Tech, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in Soils and Crops and also distinguished himself on the rodeo team, winning runner-up All Around at the Texas Tech Rodeo. Bill moved on to the University of Idaho to earn his master’s degree in Rangeland Management, which led him to the Raft River Valley in southern Idaho, where he met Vickie Parke, and then to a long and successful career with the US Government.
His career spanned nearly a half-century. For 45 of those years, he worked for the Bureau of Land Management as an Area Manager in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and Billings, Montana.
In 2008, Bill retired from the position of Rangeland Program Leader at the Montana State Office.
He was recognized as “one of the most respected program leaders” and received a lifetime achievement award.
Bill married Victoria (Vickie) Ann Parke of Malta, Idaho, in September of 1966. They lived briefly in southern Idaho, where two of their children – Mitzi and Corey — were born, after which a series of transfers took the family to Belle Fourche, where Olin and Jody were born. In Belle Fourche, Bill served on the City Council and volunteer fire department, coached elementary basketball, and traveled the rodeo circuit as a calf roper. He took the kids fishing at the Bentonite Ponds, hunting on the prairie, and to visit little-known historical sites in the Black Hills.
In 1987 the family moved to Huntley, Montana, when Bill transferred to the BLM office in nearby Billings. He served on the MetraPark Board and was a trustee of the Huntley Project School District. He was devoted to his family. Week nights and weekends were spent at high school sporting events, in the practice pen, and at rodeos. His children fondly remember this period of time: “He was our biggest fan at track meets, ball games, soccer matches, and rodeos. He was ever-present at our activities.” He gained a daughter from Denmark when Malene came to live with the family for a year. As grandchildren began to enter the picture, Bill was once again in attendance at many sporting events.
Another important aspect of Bill’s life was rodeo, which began at an early age: 4-H, high school, college, and beyond. Years later he wrote, “I don’t remember when I started roping, but it seems like it was one of those things that was just there. I do remember starting on the little paint horse. I roped rocks, brush, and yucca when we were working cattle.” For 61 years he was a card-carrying member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He passed his love of rodeo on to Olin and Jody.
Bill is preceded in death by his wife Victoria, his parents William Thomas (Bill) and Verma Otha Chapman McIlvain of Big Spring, Texas, and his half-sister Bobbie Smith of Odessa, Texas. He is survived by his children Mitzi (Luke) Austin, Corey (Jodie)McIlvain, Olin McIlvain, and Jody (Jamie) McIlvain, and grandchildren Riley, Braden, Kade, Will, Kate, Harper, Rhett, and Rhys.
A Celebration of Life is planned for the summer of 2024.
Correspondence may be sent to: The McIlvains, 903 6th Ave, Laurel MT 59044
