He liked to believe that he was a gruff, scary, unfriendly person, but he wasn’t. Dusty Schurman had a heart of gold and friends from all walks of life. He never judged and didn’t ever want to tell anyone what to do. Well, except in baseball, then he would tell you what to do. He was a hard worker who loved his family and friends and he left us way too soon.
Donald Gregory Schurman was born in Missoula on October 14, 1954 to Donald L. Schurman and Rita Spang Schurman. He walked on November 27, 2014.
Dusty was the second of five kids who made Sweeney Creek, just south of Florence, their playground. Whether it was playing ‘Indians and cowboys’, taking adventurous trips ‘out back’ and up Bass Creek, or sitting on the porch playing his guitar, he always had fun and loved his life there. This was where his love of the outdoors began and he carried that love throughout his life. He passed it on to his kids and grandkids and many, many others.
Dusty attended Florence Carlton Schools. He was on the football team and never missed an opportunity to talk about Coach Lowry and his coaching. He also never missed an opportunity to remind any of his Victor friends how badly Florence beat Victor during that time. He also played basketball. He was active in drama and starred in several plays in the high school and in the community including “Annie Get Your Gun” and “The Music Man.”
Even though Dusty was active in school, he always worked in the summer and whenever he could. He spent many summers picking up bales at Billy and Blanche Hoblitt’s place. He loved to work there but he loved the homemade dinners that Blanche cooked even more, especially her lasagna. He also worked for George and Babe Ruffatto. It was there he learned the fine art of mowing hay. It drove him crazy to see a field of hay that was poorly mowed or swathed.
Although Dusty had a variety of jobs throughout his life, he always found his way back to the farm. He helped his late father-in-law, Paul Jaques, with his custom haying business. He worked for Bruce Maclay on the Maclay Ranch. For several years he worked for Marvin Costello, cowboying and night calving. He regained his love of farming while working for Bob Bailey. Most recently, he could be found feeding cattle or building fence for Hans McPherson. He truly loved that lifestyle.
Hunting and fishing were a major part of Dusty’s life. From an early age, he enjoyed the hunt and shared this love with not only his own children but also many others through teaching hunter safety. He was a certified bow hunter safety instructor and spent many years laying the ‘perfect’ blood trail to challenge his students. Jean used to joke that he was more of a hunter than a gatherer because it really was about seeing the deer or elk and not about bringing something home.
He made a couple of ‘trips of a lifetime’ to Alaska and the Nushagak River where he and his cousin, Mike Thompson, fished. He was able to spend one of these trips with his son, Zack, and that was a cherished memory for both. Dusty even got Jean into a boat a time or two to do some fishing. It was a lot of fun, even when she had a fishhook in her back and the motor on the boat quit in the middle of Henry’s Lake, Idaho.
Music was always present in Dusty’s life. He played guitar and loved to sing with his family. In his early years he was in a band that played around the valley. One of their first ‘gigs’ was at the Sadie Hawkins Dance in Victor. With his huge ‘Afro’, beads and tank top (it was the ‘70’s after all), he had quite a stage presence. He passed this love of all types of music on to his daughter Erin and grandson Roan.
Dusty’s love of baseball came from his grandfather, James Posey Spang. Dusty began coaching even before his kids were old enough to play baseball. He coached for about 15 years and coached everything from T Ball to junior babe. Last spring, he enjoyed watching his grandkids play and always had some little tidbit to tell them about improving their game.
As the manager of the Florence Park for the last four years, he got to watch baseball everyday from April until August, and he did. From the littlest players to the players on the Bitterroot Bucs Legion team, he was there, watching and enjoying. It really made his day when any of the players came and visited with him. He was forever coming home and filling Jean in on who was the best player and who needed to improve. He really loved the game.
He also coached basketball and was instrumental in starting a basketball program in Victor for the third, fourth, and fifth graders. Always a stickler for fundamentals, he made sure the young players had the basics as well as teaching them how to have fun.
In his younger years, Dusty rode bulls. He loved the rodeo life and the friends he made while competing. As he did with everything else, he passed this love on to his children, Erin and Zack. He followed them through 4H, Bitterroot Gymkhana Club and with Erin, on to Junior Rodeo. He could be counted on for a good story while helping at any of the functions.
Dusty joined the Army when he was about 19. He transferred over to the Montana National Guard after leaving the Army where he spent 17 years serving. He made many lifelong friends there and left a legacy of jokes, pranks, songs and stories. He loved serving his country. The stories he would come back with from his weekends at the Guard were sometimes unbelievable.
Dusty worked for Alpine Log Homes for about 24 years. The friends he made there became life-long friends. He did a variety of jobs there, from grading logs to fixing chainsaws; he was always busy. The last four years, Dusty delivered the Bitterroot Star on Wednesdays up and down the valley. As always, he found new friends and brought back little stories about each. The employees at Farmers State Bank in Stevensville will forever associate the advertisement with the camel saying ‘what day is it’ with Dusty. It was always ‘hump day’ for them.
Dusty was an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and was very proud of his heritage. His mother was an accomplished beader and artist and he was very proud to have many pieces she had made in his regalia. He danced at powwows around the area and as always, made new friends. His mother taught him of his heritage. He studied the stories, talked to his elders and worked hard to honor this heritage.
In 1978, a chance meeting turned into a lifetime adventure when Dusty met Jean Jaques. The two were married on August 27, 1977, in the Victor Park. He was a loving husband who was always encouraging Jean to do whatever she wanted to do. He was very proud of any of her accomplishments, although he did like to tease her and get her dander up about politics.
He was so proud of his kids and the adults they are now. His daughter, Erin, was born in 1978. In 1983, Zack was born and made the family complete. Dusty followed the two through their various activities, staying in the background but giving them guidance and gruff love.
He is survived by his wife, Jean, at the family home; daughter Erin and her husband John Rosenkrance, and her children Roan Jackson and EllaBay Jackson; Zack and his wife Crystal, and their children Kyle and Zoey; his father Don Schurman; brothers Jon (Beth) and Martin (Carrie Hill); sisters Melissa Schurman, Kim Schurman (Billy Misookie); adopted brother Jim Hayes (Shelly); uncles Dennis Spang and Albert Schurman; and aunt Doris Spang and Shirley Boucher; brother-in-laws Tom (Barbara) Jaques and Dean (Renae) Jaques; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his mother, Rita, in 2007.
There will be a memorial service at Whitesitt Funeral Home in Stevensville, Montana, on Wednesday, December 3, 2014, at 2 p.m. There will be a reception following at 3 p.m. at the Victor Senior Center on 5th in Victor. Please come and share stories of Dusty, there are a bunch. A memorial has been set up at Ravalli County Federal Credit Union, 501 N. 1st, Hamilton MT 59840.