Jack Tunnell

Jack D. Tunnell, age 73 of Glendive, Montana, passed away on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at the Glendive Medical Center in Glendive. Funeral Service will be held at 11AM, Saturday, December 27, 2025, at Living Hope Bible Church in the Glendive Congregational Church facilities in Glendive, Montana, with Dave Rice officiating. Burial at Grandview Cemetery at Intake, Montana, will follow the service and luncheon. Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Jack Donald Tunnell, beloved husband and father, went home to be with the Lord on December 20, 2025, with his loving family at his bedside.

Born to Don and Evelyn Tunnell on March 8, 1952, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Jack was raised on a ranch outside Dorris, California. He attended Butte Valley High School, where he met his high school sweetheart, Lavada Varnum, interrupting her Home Economics class to make sure she noticed him. After a year at College of the Siskiyou, he returned to Dorris, and he and Lavada were married June 26, 1971. In September of 1972, the couple moved to Darby, Montana, with their baby girl, Tammy, where Jack worked on a ranch for 3 years. During that time, Jack and Lavada's second daughter, Cheri, was born. The family then moved to Corvallis, Montana, where they owned a small dairy farm and welcomed their third daughter, Beth. Deciding dairy farming was not his thing, Jack took his family to Glendive, Montana, in 1980, where he began cattle ranching, which most definitely was his thing. Jack was a true, blue cowboy; the stuff of Louis L'Amour novels. He loved working cattle as well as the open range and broad skies of Eastern Montana. Jack ran his own cattle and also worked for the Country Cross Ranch for 25 years, "retiring" in January of 2025.

Jack's world revolved around caring for his family, his cows and his community. Friends and neighbors quickly became family. Whenever a helping hand was needed, Jack was there. The farming and ranching community where Jack and his family lived is a tight-knit group, and Jack was thankful for each and every one of them.

Grandchildren were a joy of Jack's life. Much childhood mischief and many shenanigans were instigated by Grandpa Jack. His grandchildren adored him, and as one granddaughter said, "He made our childhood."

Jack is survived by his wife Lavada Rose Varnum, his daughters Tammy Lynch, Cheri (Stacy) Wilson and Beth (Jeff) Regan; his sisters Marilyn (Bucky) Titus, Donna (Mark) Thrailkill, and Patti (Wayne) Buhler; his grandchildren Jackson Schreiber, Austin Schreiber, Zachary Tunnell, Magnolia Wilson, Olivia Wilson and Nora Regan; and his great-granddaughter Lilly Schreiber. He was preceded in death by his father Frank Donald Tunnell and his mother Evelyn Voelker Tunnell.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Glendive Cancer Fund in Jack's name.

Remembrances and condolences can be shared with the family at: www.silhafuneralhomes.com.