William "Bill" Perry

William Mitchell Bill Perry left this Last Best Place for places unknown on May 9, 2017. Bill died at Beehive Homes in Great Falls after struggling with dementia for several years. Born in Miller, Kansas, on January 13, 1927, to Ethel Isabell Hamilton Perry and Koscie Larue Perry, Bill was the baby of 4 boys. Bill began his phenomenal journey of adventure and exploration in rural Kansas, hunting possum and squirrel with his little dog Patsy, scooping up baby skunks and fostering them with the farm cat, and riding his old mare. After high school, Bill followed his family to the Judith Country and fell in love with Montana.A smart man and a phenomenal athlete, Bill was offered a college scholarship on his athletic and academic ability. He let that opportunity go by and signed up for the army during WWII, serving 4 years in Japan on the Army Track Team. He continued his love for sports stateside, playing semi-professional baseball, even getting a look from the Red Sox. Bill enjoyed competition throughout his life; he pitched horseshoes, competed on the Cascade Gun Club, played golf and town team baseball, and coached Little League. He loved the annual Sieben-Dana softball game.Bill Perry retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984 after 28 years of service to the farmers, ranchers, and beekeepers of Central Montana. He had a special love for the Big Belt Mountains, where he spent the majority of his adult life hunting and trapping. It was a special day for his girls when they got to go to work with Dad. He knew the best fishing holes, and at the end of the day, they would drop a line in a mountain stream and share a cold beer from a secret cache in a spring. His friends were the camp tenders and ranch cooks for Sieben, Dana, and McKamey Ranches.Bill leaves this world to his loving children Kathleen and Byron Martinell and grandson Jonathan (Serena) Martinell; Mickey Lyngholm and grandsons Jeff (Jennifer) and Wayne (Sarah) Lyngholm; Lois and Paul Dissly and grandsons Nick (Meghan Marler), Russ (Allison Scott) and Will Dissly; Billie Perry and granddog Miss Ginny; OElla and Jim Raznoff and grandchildren Scott (Freyja), Jamie, and Anne Raznoff; and Peggy and Mike Clark and granddaughters Chelsey (Brian) Sienkowski and Laura (Jon Gaither) Clark. Great grandchildren include Neila and Olive Lyngholm, Ava Raznoff, Silas Mitchell Lyngholm, Grace Martinell, and Jolene Joy Dissly. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, wife Betty, brothers Max Robert, Jack, and Ken Perry, and son-in-law Mike Lyngholm.From the Next Best Place, Bill will forever roam the hills of Montana with a twinkle in his eye and grin on his face. Until dementia diminished Bills capacity, he enjoyed life to the fullest and taught his children and their spouses and his grandkids to love Montanas splendid nature. Bills ashes will be buried at the Utica Cemetery with those of Betty Jane Griffith Perry, whom he loved for 67 years. When you spot of pair of geese flying by, maybe thats Bill and Betty, dipping their wings to those they love.