Ross E. McAlpin, 81
Ross E. McAlpin of Bigfork “went home to be with our Heavenly Father” on Jan. 20, 2011, with his loving wife and family at his side, following a long and painful battle with cancer.
Ross was born at home on March 15, 1929, on the McAlpin farm at Villisca, Iowa, to Robert and Lottie (Thompson) McAlpin. In November of 1941, the McAlpins moved to Polson after purchasing the former Gov. Joseph Dixon Ranch on the south shore of Flathead Lake.
Ross graduated from Polson High School in 1947 and later attended Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa, where he studied agricultural science.
On Sept. 16, 1949, he married his longtime sweetheart, Mary Lou Groves. Together Ross and Mary Lou spent the next 61 and a half years raising and enjoying time with their four children, Bob, Judy, Wes and Susan, as well as seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Ross was baptized on July 22, 1951, in Flathead Lake near Polson by Pastor Charles Durston. After relocating to the Bigfork-Swan Lake area in 1980, he joined the Swan Chapel in Swan Lake where he had been an active member for the past 30 years.
Ross was active in 4-H in Lake County, not only as a member, but also as a leader and served as beef superintendent at the Lake County Junior Fair for a number of years.
In 1963 and ‘64, Ross worked for the U.S. Forest Service at the old Java Ranger Station along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River where he was a witness to "The Big Flood." In later years he worked seasonally on the U.S.F.S. road crew maintaining the thousands of miles forest roads.
He also worked for a time with the Lake County Road Department, and finished his career working for the Montana Department of Transportation on Montana Hwy. 83, plowing snow from Bigfork to Condon.
Ross retired in the fall of 1990 and started a new adventure of traveling to Yuma, Ariz., where he and Mary Lou spent their next 13 winters enjoying friends, family members and the warm weather.
Ross never met a stranger, as everyone was his friend.
He was preceded in death by his father, mother, brother Neil, as well as his daughter Judy and her husband Larry Fitzpatrick.
Survivors include his wife of 61 and a half years, Mary Lou; sons, Bob and Jeannie of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Wes of Kalispell; and daughter, Susan and Gary Jackson of Poulsbo, Wash.
His seven grandchildren are Jay McAlpin, Crystal (McAlpin) Timmcke, Sean Jackson, Amy Jackson, Justin Fitzpatrick, Larissa Fitzpatrick and Reese McAlpin. His great-grandchildren include Jillian and Charlotte McAlpin, as well as Abby, Jordon and Jacob Timmcke.
Memorials may be made to the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department, the Swan Chapel at Swan Lake, or a charity of choice.
A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Swan Chapel, 122376 Hwy. 83, Bigfork.
To send condolences to the family please go to www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.