Malcolm James Macdonald Sr.
August 2, 1931 – June 5, 2008
The spirit of Malcolm James Macdonald Sr. left his earthly body the morning of June 5, 2008 at his home in Santa Maria, California.
Malcolm, nicknamed Corky from infancy, was born at Wiota on 2 Aug 1931. His father John Macdonald was a son of the old Scottish settler Jim Macdonald and Nellie Lone Dog, from a well known Fort Peck reservation Sioux family.
His mother Viola Sweeney added to his ancestry with her Assiniboine heritage as the daughter of James Sweeney and Agnes Gives the Blanket. Corky was delivered as a newborn by Nellie Clark who lived near the home of his parents where the Missouri river and the Milk River come together in Valley County.
He started school in a country school house near his home. Later he attended grade school in Frazer, Montana and then high school in Nashua, Montana.
At the age of 15 Corky, observing happenings around him and at the urging of his Grandmother Agnes Sweeney decided to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Greatly influenced by that churches abstinence of alcohol and tobacco he followed those principals the rest of his 76 years, raising his children and grandchildren to follow in his footsteps.
After high school he attended Utah State University for one year before joining the United States Army. In 1953 he married Berta Lee Combs from Poplar, Montana in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On his return from service in Germany they moved to Wiota to manage the farm/ranch being run by his widowed mother. Two years later his mother Viola was killed in a train/auto accident. For the next 17 years the couple with their four small children Mac, Doug, Ann’et and Wendy spent many happy days pursuing the life of a farmer. They acquired a herd of Herford cattle, some beautiful Canadian bulls and planted crops.
The times were not getting any better, the herd had to get bigger and they spent more time waiting for irrigation water than receiving it. It became obvious that they, like many of their neighbors could no longer pursue this beautiful way of life.
At the age of 40 he moved his family to Provo, Utah and entered Brigham Young University. Malcolm worked counseling Indian students and carried a full course load. Berta Lee worked as a Registered Nurse at the Student Health Center and became a Nurse Practitioner. Both graduated on the same day in 1974.
Malcolm spent the rest of his working years as an Agricultural Appraiser working for banks and large Agricultural lending firms. The jobs afforded him the opportunity to associate with farmers and ranchers and as a personal property appraiser to evaluate entities like crops, livestock, equipment and machinery. A couple of unique things he appraised were a saddle for the Cowboy Hall of Fame and a missile silo being donated to a large university. He had a chance to see much of the western half of the United States. He loved the traveling especially with one company who had a company jet. Traveling to him was always a joy. With him you never had to go back to see an area again because he explored every nook and cranny while there.
In retirement he choose California’s central coast in Santa Barbara County. He loved all critters and watching sea creatures to him was a delight.
Corky had three great passions. They were hunting, working with cattle on his own original grazing allotment north of Frazer and in his later years he had his own film reader and he read, traced and recorded information about ancestral roots.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years Berta Lee, a son and two daughters. His son, Douglas John and wife Dee live in Colstrip, Montana; they have a son and three daughters, D.J., Chandelle, Lana and Megan. His daughter, Ann’et Fern Macdonald lives in Reno Nevada and Wendy Lee Macdonald, their youngest also lives in Santa Maria California. Corky’s oldest son Malcolm Jr., known as Mac, died at the age of 39 from Leukemia, Mac and his wife Janice have two daughters, Krista and Laurissa.
Corky has a large extended family most of whom live at Fort Peck. The family includes is his mother’s sister Emily Sweeney(Wind Chief) Day of Wolf Point, a brother, John Macdonald Jr. and wife Jean of Wiota and a Sister Emma Jean and husband Thomas First Raised of Henderson Nevada.
Besides his son Mac, Corky was preceded in death by his parents and his half-brother Walter Frank Macdonald of Nashua.
Corky will be severely missed by his entire family and all who knew him. He will be remembered for his quite demeanor, his thoughtfulness, his sense of humor and his sincere interest in all whom he came into contact. His beautiful spirit chose to escape to a better place; it was his time to go.
Services will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Poplar, Montana on June 12, 2008 at 2 PM with Visitation one hour before the service. Interment will be in the family plot at the Poplar Community Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at csmc@nemontel.net or www.stevensonandsons.com