Robert McFarland

Big mulies, whitetails, and browns of Montana can rest easier knowing that Robert “Bob” McFarland is no longer trailing them. Born in Wolf Point on June 9,1936 to Merrill and Mary Anne McFarland, Bob and his younger brother Ray were raised on construction sites. Bob joined the Navy during the Korean War. While serving aboard the U.S.S. Nicholas, he married Heather Smyth. The young couple started a family, and Daniel, Kathy, and David were born to them. During the construction of Yellowtail Dam, Ray was killed in a car accident (1963).

Bob moved a lot of dirt, rock, and steel as an unparalleled heavy equipment operator for Local 400. Bob and Heather built a home in Lockwood. They were married twenty-seven years and were survived by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Bob was also survived by one of Ray's daughters, Diana Johnson.

For the last score of years, Bob had resided in Custer, Montana by himself and embraced the community. In January of this year, despite being nearly blind and on oxygen, he caught browns and rainbows through the ice of Willow Creek reservoir. Though he had overcome many hardships including his affinity for beer, he was in a war of attrition with mesothelioma. It put him down a new path Sunday morning, February 11, 2024, while home. Though he will be missed, it won't be by Montana's mule deer.