William "Bill" L. McGee

On October 30, 2019, William "Bill" L. McGee, age 94, rode peacefully to the last roundup from his home in Napa, California.

Bill was born on September 30, 1925 in Livingston, Montana. In 1926, he moved with his parents (Harry and Vivian McGee) and siblings (Doris, Betty, and Bob McGee) to Malta. When the Depression hit, Bill's father, a rancher and Border Patrolman, left Bill's mother and siblings, and went to Alaska, claiming Montana was getting too crowded. In 1932, Bill was "farmed out" to a neighboring cattle rancher, so there would be one less mouth to feed at home. For seven years, Bill worked on the Carl Holm ranch in Bennett Lake Community for room and board, and a new pair of Levis every year. Thanks to the generosity of the congregation of the Malta Community Church, Bill always said, "We didn't know we were poor, and we always had clothes on our backs, even if they didn't fit." Bill believed growing up in those hardscrabble years instilled in him the work ethic he needed later on to succeed in life and business. In 2016, Bill and his co-author/wife Sandra recaptured those years in "Montana Memoir: The Hardscrabble Years, 1925–1942".

After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Bill returned to cowboying, with the hopes of owning his own cattle and guest ranch someday. In 1947, he worked as a horse wrangler in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. He was a trail guide and deer-hunting guide at Lake Tahoe, California. Then he landed the coveted job as head dude wrangler on the famous Flying M.E., twenty miles south of Reno, Nevada. The luxury dude ranch catered to wealthy Easterners and socialites seeking a six-week divorce. Bill went on trail rides with a du Pont and an Astor. He went hunting and drinking with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. Bill said those years were some of the best of his life.

Bill was self-educated and succeeded in whatever career he set his mind to. His longest run was 32 years in broadcast sales and marketing, where he distinguished himself as a leader and innovator in cooperative advertising. But no matter what he was doing, or where he was living, he never forgot his Montana raisin' and his cowboy roots. He loved country music and listened to it to the very end.

Bill has been described as "a genuine cowboy with the heart to go with it." Sandra likes to quote a line from "Sun and Saddle Leather" (1922) by South Dakota cowboy poet Badger Clark: "Cowboys are the sternest critics of those who would represent the West. No hypocrisy, no bluff, no pose can evade them." This describes Montana cowboy, Bill McGee, known for his straight talk, which later became his signature writing style. He was strong-willed and quick-tempered, but was solid on qualities that mattered: trustworthiness, honesty, dependability.

In lieu of flowers or a memorial service, Bill suggested contributions to the Phillips County Historical Society. The full-length "The Last Roundup – Remembering Bill McGee" is posted at http://www.WilliamMcGeeBooks.com.