Barbara Raisland

Obituary written by Barbara Raisland
I had a very good life. I had a wonderful husband who was loving and caring. We were able to accomplish our dreams of having a ranch of our own. I had three beautiful children, Chad, Caleb, and Cedar. They have all accomplished goals in their own ways. The grandkids are all different and special. I'm really sorry I can't see them grow up and be happy.
I was born in Ennis on May 5th, 1954, to Willard and Joyce Rieman and lived on a ranch on Granite Creek near Virgina City. This is the place I will always call home. I was very happy when I inherited it so I can pass it on to my family.
Later my family moved to Ballantine where my dad raised black Angus Cattle and wheat. He hated sheep, but when I enrolled in 4-H, I wanted to raise sheep. I was able to have a flock of Suffolk ewes, which paid for my tuition at college.
It took me some turns and bumps, but I finally finished college with two degrees. One in Social Services and the second in Elementary Education. My dream came true when I got a teaching job at Grey Cliff Elementary.
This is where I met my husband, Olen Raisland. We met in March, and we got married in July of 1981. This is where we had our first born, Chad. When Chad was a year and a half, Olen said to me "you didn't have a child to have a babysitter raise him." So that was the end of teaching, and we moved to the ranch near Reed Point. We had two more children, Caleb and Cedar. Times were tough and we both looked for jobs off the ranch to make a go of it. For me, these were the happiest days of my life.
I worked at the Reed Point Post Office for around 20 years. Not my favorite job, because it was not an outdoor job. In 1987, I had an opportunity to work in the crop insurance business. There weren't too many women that were crop adjusters at that time, so it was a big adjustment for the farmers. I recall having one farmer tell me, I did ok for a woman. For a time, I was one of two women hail adjusters in Montana and felt I lead the way for other women. Not only did I love my job, it took me to many different places in the USA but also gave me a lot of confidence I never knew I had because the managers believed in me. I worked in the crop insurance industry for 36 years and retired as a Claim Supervisor.
Olen and I both retired about the same time, and we were able to do a lot of traveling, enjoy the ranch life, and being together. Only to have it cut too short when I lost Olen in April 2024. We were married for 43 years. Losing him left a big hole in my heart. He has made a path to heaven for me, so don't be sad for me because I am with him now.
Goodbye, till we meet again in heaven.
Cremation has taken place and services will be held at the ranch in Reed Point at a later date.
Memorials in Barbara's name may be made to Montana Wool Growers Educational and Research Endowment Fund, PO Box 1693, Helena, MT 59624 or a charity of one's choice.