Jim Skelton

JAMES DARRELL SKELTON
On the evening of August 14, 2025 our beloved Dad, Husband, Brother, Uncle, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and loyal friend to so many, passed away in Cut Bank MT. His daughter & her dearest friend were by his bedside and his beloved Mariners were on the TV. We believe it was his version of a walk-off home run, and running the bases to the gates of heaven as he was being welcomed by his loved ones!

Jim was born in St Ignatius, Montana on July 27, 1942 to Curtis Skelton and Alois “Curly” Burland. He was raised by his wonderful grandmother, Josephine Cobell and had a good life, albeit hard and challenging at times, all while being raised in the Mission Mountains that he truly loved . He had many wonderful friends, their families & some coaches that were a big part of helping raise him. That’s where he learned to stay on a fairly good path (obviously with a few shenanigans along the way) and became the kind, giving, loving & hardworking man that he was throughout his whole life. Jim was a naturally athletic, big & strong kid and played sports all through his high school years in St. Ignatius. He stayed incredibly close with his coaches, teammates & classmates until the day he passed away. He graduated from St. Ignatius in 1961. Shortly after, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps from 1961-1965 and was stationed in San Francisco’s Treasure Island. He was beyond proud of being a Marine and that is where they talked him into being on the Olympic club wrestling team, which was fitting as he was one strong, scrappy guy. He finished his military wrestling career by participating in the 1965 National AAU wrestling championship and received the honor of the quickest pin. Granted, he was the one that got pinned, but he made Sports Illustrated and was fairly proud of it! After being honorably discharged in 1965 he moved back to the Mission Valley and married Donna Choate. They had three wonderful children, Eric, Iva & Curtis from that union but later divorced.

When he left he went to Drummond area where he was employed as a logger. This is where he met his second wife, Patricia (Patty) Kulstad Vollmer and became the world’s greatest StepDad to his two bonus daughters, Nicole and Noelle. In 1977 their family settled in Cut Bank Montana where he was working for Styren Construction & Alme Construction and eventually got his dream job of being a welder for Montana Power in 1982. Those Montana Power guys were a close-knit bunch of characters & he fit right in. I’m sure they have several stories they can share. Pat & Jim divorced in 1987 but stayed good friends until she passed in 1997. He retired from Montana Power in 2003, but being the hard-working man he was, he wasn’t ready to be completely done working so he picked back up logging with his son Eric, did different stints trucking, and enjoyed doing some farming for Hjartarson Farm. He loved it and looked forward to helping his best friend Willard every year at harvest.

Jim married Karen Hietpas Schwartz on August 1, 2008. Their third time was a charm & that’s what they always told everyone! Karen’s large card-playing family loved him instantly & became a whole new wonderful group of friends. They lived in Santa Rita, which dad affectionally called the Spanish side of Cut Bank, & enjoyed dabbling in woodworking, mowing their extensive property, tinkering and “fixing” around their home, & took a surprising turn to help out with some feral and homeless kitties over a few years.

Dad had friends of all ages, and made them quickly as he was the one that would help you out with anything. Always had a “characters” smile on his face which you just knew he was about to tell you one of his funny, salty or crazy jokes and would finish it off by laughing so hard with his unique “giggle” that he was known for. He really enjoyed going to the Parkview Senior Center later in his life and visit & eat their wonderful meals. You see, even though his nose had been broken 13 times & he couldn’t smell, dad loved food, and he always made funny little noises while he was eating something that he loved. He was the best to cook for because he loved everything you made, was so appreciative & would have several helpings with lots of Tabasco, and lots of pepper. He loved Karen’s three-berry and strawberry rhubarb pie.

The last seven months of his life were one of his biggest challenges as he suffered a stroke, and tried incredibly hard to come back from it. He was in the Northern Pines nursing home in Cut Bank and received the best care from all of the wonderful CNA‘s and nurses. We cannot thank them enough for their kindness, compassion & helping him keep his sense of humor.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Art & Mike Trahan & sisters Mary Jo Hayner, Carolyn Schilling, & Renee Thompson, his daughter Iva & her son Jake, his grandson. Living with the amazing memories & stories of him are: his wife Karen, brother Ron Trahan, sons Eric Skelton, Curtis (Jenny) Skelton, bonus daughters Nicole (Dave) Altenburg & Noelle Tvedt and his step kids Amber (Dave)Cawley, and Doug (Judy) Withers.
His PRIDE was his grandchildren: Brent, Todd (Scarlett), Hudson, Devan, Kendra, Kylee, Kierstan, Jordan, Zach, Zoe, Halle, Wyatt & Savannah. His JOY was his great grand children: Athena, Shiloh, Owsley, Garrison, Royce, Kadynce & Ellienor.

His service was held on Saturday, August 23 at the Catholic Church in Cut Bank, Montana, followed by a reception and celebration at the Moose. A huge thank you to everyone involved with planning the funeral and military service, the Women of the Moose, and all those who supplied food and flowers. If you would like to do something in Jim’s honor, please consider donating to the Cut Bank KidPack Program @ 1126 1st St SE or The Parkview Senior Center @ 715 E Main both in Cut Bank, MT 59427.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jim Skelton, please visit our floral store.