William "Bill" Uffelman

William "Bill"
Uffelman (age 90), a lifelong resident of Hardin, passed away on the morning of January 23, 2025, in the comfort of his home as he had wished.
Bill was born April 23, 1934, in Garryowen, Montana, the 3rd of 16 siblings to Alex and Marie (Nedens) Uffelman.
He was raised in the south valley and attended St Xavier Public School through sixth grade and soon after was needed to help on the family farm, thus beginning his lifelong career and love of farming.
One evening, he took a rare night off from working and went to town for a night of fun. Little did he know that he'd see a beautiful young gal "just walking down the street" and stopped and asked her to jump in for a ride. The rest is history! Bill married the love of his life, Helen Kirschenmann on March 27, 1955. The couple made their home south of Hardin and built a wonderful life of Faith, Family, and Farming.
To this union, 4 sons joined the family; Randy, Kenneth, Gary and Brian. Nothing pleased Bill more than when all his sons had completed their college educations and made decisions to come home and farm with him.
Bill was a lifelong active member of Christ E&R Church of Hardin. He so enjoyed listening to Helen play church hymns on the organ. Bill lived his dream of farming and ranching; living on the land that he loved and growing sugar beets, wheat, barley, and various other crops. He was happiest in the seat of an orange tractor! Being part of a 4 generation farming family, he had many proud moments harvesting crops alongside his sons, grandsons, and granddaughters, with his great grandchildren riding along as seat buddies. Bill's commitment to the family farm continued to the end. Even after retirement (at age 87) he could be found scouting fields, "supervising" from the pickup or operating a tractor to help his sons harvest their crop. In October 2024 he was in the defoliator finishing beet harvest alongside his son.
Bill took great pride in watching his sons compete in the beloved sport of wrestling. As his family grew you could find him in the stands at many football, volleyball, wrestling, and 4-H events, supporting his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He also enjoyed days on the lake waterskiing, snowmobiling, snow skiing, bowling and golfing. In his later years his greatest hobby was socializing. When time allowed, Bill and Helen enjoyed traveling and going on cruises. Bill had a love for the community he lived in and was an avid supporter of many community events, serving on multiple boards including the Hardin Jaycees, Pork Producers, Elks Club, Big Horn Soil Conservation, and the Big Horn County Fair Board. He was also a Kussmaul seed dealer for over 50 years!
He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Alex and Leroy Uffelman, and sister Clara Eshleman. He is survived by his wife Helen of almost 70 years, his sons Randy, Kenneth (Janet), Gary (Renae), and Brian (Valerie) Uffelman; Grandchildren Jason (Breanne), Kirsten (Dan), Chad (Stephanie), Alyssa (Leighton), Kiehl, Brandon (Chelsea), Laura, Landa (fiancé Gary), Ashley (Austin), Courtney, and Macy. Great Grandchildren Koy, Cooper, Katelyn, Wyatt, Wil, Olivia, Luke, Reagan, Skyla, and Brielle. Siblings Henry Uffelman, Esther Jacques, Dorothy (Bill) Stenerson, Betty Seder, Louise (Jim) Kelly, Kathryn (Sam) DeSantis, David (Sandy) Uffelman, Helen (Jerry) Rupert, Vic (Denise) Uffelman, Ed (Jill) Uffelman, Bob (Kay) Uffelman, Carol (Pat) Cavanaugh, brother in law Bill Eshleman, sister in law Verna Uffelman, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Bill's greatest joy was his family. His passing leaves a huge void in our lives, but his lessons and love will live with us all forever. We will carry on your legacy, Grandpa!
Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 28th, 10:00am-2:00pm at Bullis Funeral Chapel with funeral services held Wednesday, January 29th, at 10:30am at Christ E&R Church, interment to follow at Fairview Cemetery.
If desired, memorial contributions can be made to Christ E&R Church or Big Horn County Museum.