Hugo V. Jarussi

FISHTAIL ? Hugo V. Jarussi died on Aug. 1, 2005, at his home on Grove Creek, from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 89.

Dad was born on May 8, 1916, in Red Lodge, to Louis and Carmela Jarussi.

The first few years of Dad's life were spent on his family's homestead on Upper Whitebird Creek, several miles south of Columbus. His memories of that part of his life were sketchy, but he could remember the coyotes howling at night and the rattlesnakes which seemed to flourish ? even if the crops didn't. In the early 1920s, the family returned to their home in Red Lodge.

In the 1920s, the Red Lodge Cannery began operations, and Dad began his first career ? that of a bean picker. Wages ranged from one-half to one cent per pound, making it hard to earn more than a dollar a day. At age 11, he decided that he wasn't going to continue to live the good life of a bean picker, nor was he any longer fond of beans.

As a young boy, Dad became an avid fisherman. He started out fishing on Willow Creek, then Rock Creek and finally the lakes of the Beartooth Mountains. This was long before the construction of the Beartooth Highway, and fishing the lakes meant hiking in from Red Lodge. In those days, you could spend a week in the mountains and never see another person. Over the years, Dad fished most of the lakes and he usually had an opinion about which lakes were the best fishing.

Dad attended grade school and the first two years of high school in Red Lodge. In 1931, his brother John, a pharmacist, purchased the drug store in Joliet, and Dad moved to Joliet to help him. He graduated from Joliet High School in 1933.

After graduation, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp., and was stationed at the National Bison Range near Moiese. He worked on a powder crew, punching powder holes and then loading them with dynamite. After the dynamite was set off, other crews cleared the debris, set posts and built fences.

After his stint in the CCCs, Dad enrolled at the University of Montana, graduating in 1939 with a degree in education. Jobs were scarce, so in February of 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Dad spent one year in the 15th Infantry and then was transferred to the 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, which was part of the 6th Armored Division, which, in turn, was part of the 3rd Army under Patton. They landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day. He saw 235 days of combat duty in less than a year, taking part in five major campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhineland Campaign. He was decorated with a Bronze Star and a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. A combat patrol of which he was a member liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in April of 1945.

Dad jokingly noted that the Army celebrated his birthday (May 8) in 1945 by declaring it Victory in Europe Day. His service in the army ended four years, four months and four days after he enlisted.

In 1947, Dad was hired to teach in Fairfield. During this year, he met Marion Warneke and they were married on Sept. 4, 1948.

In 1950, Mom and Dad moved to Joliet and then to Absarokee a couple of years later. They operated a hardware store for a few years while Dad also worked for the American Chrome Company near Nye.

In 1958, they bought their first farm in the Stillwater Valley, and Dad returned to teaching in the Absarokee school system. Over the years, they purchased additional farmland, finally making their home on Grove Creek.

In 1966, Mom and Dad leased their farm and moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where he taught for several years. This move began an almost 40-year lifestyle of living on the farm for part of the year and in Lewiston for the remainder. Although Lewiston may have been home for part of the year, his heart never left the farm, and he looked forward to returning each year.

Dad is survived by his wife, Marion; sons Gene (Karen) Jarussi of Billings, Jim (Mary) Jarussi of St. Paul, Minn.; daughter Lisa (Howard) Jarussi Smith of Boise, Idaho; and seven grandchildren, Nick Smith, Alex Smith, Sophia Smith, Kevin Jarussi, Erica Jarussi, David Jarussi and Will Larson. He is also survived by his sisters, Florence Fairbanks, Ernestine Cameron of Red Lodge and Adeline Donnes of Custer and Louise Cross of Glendive.

Dad was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Loretta Jarussi, Lillian Jarussi, Ethel Shaheen and Rosemary Milmont, as well as his brother, John Jarussi.

As Dad once wrote, "I came from a wonderful family and I have a wonderful family. I guess that is all one can ask."

Dad's family and friends will gather at the farm on Grove Creek on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 1 p.m. for services.

Memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice.

The family wishes to express their appreciation to the Big Sky Hospice (Donna McClure) for making Dad's last days comfortable.

Smith-Olcott Funeral Chapel of Red Lodge assisted the family with arrangements.