William A. Georgeson

Bill Georgeson was tragically taken from his children, grandchildren, mother, siblings, extended family and friends on

February 12th, 2026, in Pray, MT, at the age of 65. This unfathomable loss leaves a gaping void for all who loved him. We are

blessed by the memories of this man who shared his love so freely.

Bill was born William Alan Georgeson, in Fargo, North Dakota, on April 10, 1960. He was the first of five children for William

Clair Georgeson and Donna Marie Dutt. His dad was an adventurous outdoorsman with a dry wit, a hearty entrepreneurial

spirit, and an unending desire to spend time with family and friends, sharing his passions. His life served as a blueprint for

Bill and his siblings. His devoted mother is the heart of the family, a talented homemaker, and good listener who raised Bill

to be kind, generous and creative.

Bill grew up in Fargo and started exploring the world with his life-long best friend, brother Mike, at the age of 1. They were

rough-and-tumble little guys, and their mom still likes to say, “Mike was bigger, but Billy was faster!” They were raised

Catholic and liked to play “church” at home before they both became altar boys. They were avid hunters of deer and birds

from a young age. While hunting in the Black Hills, age 13 and 12, they wandered oS and got lost. It got dark, very dark, so

they climbed a little butte and flicked a lighter (that, of course, they weren’t supposed to have) on and oS until their dad

spotted them and came to the rescue.

He attended school at St. Mary’s Elementary, Fargo North High, and graduated as a proud Woodrow Wilson High School

Buzzard. He continued his education through professional training in the automatic fire sprinkler industry.

He started out as a pipe fabricator for his dad’s business, Apollo Sprinkler Company, when he was 13 years old. In the early

days, he and Mike killed a lot of crickets with the oil gun, but later he helped expand the business into Montana. He moved

to Billings in 1979, worked for his dad and eventually, in 2002, he opened his own successful company, Federal Fire

Protection. He was a well-respected businessman and participated in many wonderful projects throughout Gallatin and

Paradise Valley, including retrofitting the Montana State University Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (So. Many. Pipe. Angles.) as

well as many of the treasured structures in Yellowstone National Park. He retired from his business in 2023 and was

making the most of every minute and was happiest in the company of his grandkids, other family and friends.

Despite being an accomplished entrepreneur, Bill never lived for work. He worked to allow for time with his family. He

married his first and only love, Jolene Paulson, on October 16, 1982 in Red Lodge, Montana, in the old chapel. A big

celebration followed with the best shrimp scampi anywhere, made behind the little bar. They welcomed their beautiful

daughter, Amanda Marie, on February 25, 1985, and a bouncing baby boy, Matthew Alan, on March 11, 1986. They had a

busy and active home in Billings for many years. Bill loved watching Mandy dance, especially when twirling her flaming

baton. And Matt, though responsible for all of Bill’s gray hair, was the apple of his eye. After a time, Bill and Jolene divorced

but remained close friends, and Jolene continued to be an integral part of the extended family. She has been an important

support to everyone during this terrible time.

Bill was blessed with three grandkids, Matt’s daughter Brigder, and Amanda’s twin boys, Cody and Carter. They have been

the center of his life since their arrival 10 and 8 years ago. He was passionate about the great outdoors and relished

sharing that with everyone, but most especially with them. They spent many hours together camping, hiking, exploring the

woods, and riding in the side-by-side. He taught them to appreciate animals, and rocks (especially the gold ones!), and

modeled how to be a steward of the land.

He loved all motorsports: road bikes, dirt bikes, UTVs, snowmobiles, or even a riding lawnmower. He insisted on the highest

horsepower available and wanted more, even though he seldom called on it. He was a longtime member of the Billings

Motorcycle Club, though was especially adventurous in oS-road riding. Matt remembers passing his dad on the trail for the

first time at about the age of 14. Bill said, “If you ever do that again, you’re going to have to start buying your own dirtbikes.”

So, he never did that again! No matter where they were riding (Mount High, Cherry Creek, Lower Deer Creek, Morrison Jeep

Trail to Top of the World, and all of Cooke City), Bill knew the trail systems like the back of his hand. Brother Jon remembers

a four-wheeler ride together in North Dakota where they came to a ditch full of water. Bill said, “You go. It’s fine.” That ditch

ended up having 4 feet of water and Jon was wheels up in no time. Bill was smart like that.

Bill was always inspired by the zany antics of his brothers, especially those related to mining gold. Both Robert and Mike

are obsessed with mining and Bill caught the fever from them long ago. He liked to pan in his corner of the world while

Robert, Mike and even Matt, sucked gold oS the floor of the Bering Sea. Recently, he and Mike were mining a claim in

Emigrant Creek that required the two sixty-somethings to rapel down a 200 ft rope to reach the site. Robert has made many

trips to Montana but this June, Bill was so excited to be making his first trip to Alaska with Mike. They planned to do some

deep-sea fishing and then hit the road in RVs to mine the Western United States. Some real old guy shit!

He loved Yellowstone National Park, Emigrant Gulch, Cooke City and Jellison Place near Harlowton, MT. He loved making

candlestick fires in old hollowed out logs. He loved hiking to high altitude lakes on Hell-Roaring Plateau, Slide Rock Lake

and Froze to Death Lake to fly fish while fending oS marmots going after his Oreos.

Bill loved music, especially 80’s rock like Mötley Crüe, Lynard Skynyrd, Van Halen, AC/DC, with a little Led Zeppelin, Deep

Purple and Ugly Kid Joe thrown in. He played guitar, but mostly the same big power cords.

He was a fantastic chef, always bringing the best deviled eggs and potato salad to family gatherings, grilling BBQ chicken to

perfection and carving the turkey prostyle. He recently accidentally purchased a half a lamb (it can happen!) so he taught

himself to make the best gyros ever! He was also famous for his signature drink, coined “Bill’s Favorite”: 1 oz (or more)

Hornitos Reposado, 4 oz lemonade, a splash of orange juice and a lime. Cheers!

For the record, Bill was the best driver in the whole family, according to his mother. He never got a ticket in all his years

behind the wheel. And unlike his brothers, he never tried to scare his passengers, so says sister Sue.

On Bill’s recent and last snowmobiling trip, he got stuck in a tricky situation and couldn’t turn around. The path ahead

included two open “crick” crossings with steep embankments. He looked at his buddy and son, Matt, and declared, “Old

Guy Shit!” before popping his goggles on and ripping out across the terrain like Santa on a crazy 200 HP sleigh! The best

“Old Guy Shit,” for sure!

Bill was preceded in death by his dad, William C. Georgeson, Stepdad James Grattelo, Aunt Carol Burtness, Uncle George

Georgeson, Aunt Florence Ann Dutt, Aunt Wanda Kaastad, and Uncle Paul Dutt. He is survived by daughter, Amanda

(Landon), son Matthew (Jamie), granddaughter Bridger, grandsons Cody and Carter, step-grandsons Skylar and Jordan,

mother Donna, brothers Michael, Robert (Donna), and Jon (Kristi), sister Susan (Marc), nieces Amy, Nora and Lark,

nephews Benjamin, Henry, William and Landon, foster sister Lupe Herrera, and many other aunts, uncles, cousins and

dear friends.

Join us on Wednesday, February 18th from 4-7 PM at The Old Saloon in Emigrant, MT, to raise a glass to Bill.