Ivan Lee Roy Jr.

Ivan Lee Roy Jr. of Stevensville passed away Thursday evening, July 16, 2020 at the Community Medical Center with his wife, Marlene at his side.

Ivan was born August 27, 1953 in Hamilton to Ivan Lee Roy Sr. and Ethel Louise Roy. Ivan was the second oldest of six children. Growing up in Victor at the family farm, he attended Victor schools and helped his parents with their dairy farm. During his junior and senior years, he spent a lot of his time at one of his good friends home, Kenny Sampson. There are many stories to be told by family, friends and even a sheriff or two of his years growing up in Victor, and much to the delight of his family, he was successful in graduating in 1972. After graduation, he got a job working with his father at the Intermountain Sawmill in Missoula. One of his favorite memories of working with his Dad at the mill was of one morning when they were running late and Ivan told his Dad, “no problem, we’ll just take my Chevelle, it’ll get us there in time.” Of course, back in those days, there wasn’t any speed limit on Hwy 93 and Ivan’s Chevelle was pretty fast. Ivan Sr. just slid down low in his seat and tried to sleep so that he didn’t have to watch the fence posts flashing by as they speeded into town. From that day on, he never let Ivan drive him to work, at least not in that Chevelle. Many of Ivan’s friends recall the entertainment he provided in the small town of Victor many evenings at Martin’s Inn, just ask any of them.

He joined the Volunteer Fire Department in Victor and worked alongside his brother, Danny and several longtime friends. He really enjoyed helping the community, however after a few years the time needed to be a volunteer just interfered too much with his first priority, his cattle and the time needed to farm to feed them so he left the Fire Department and concentrated on growing his herd.

Ivan enjoyed riding horses in the back country and for a while worked for Spence and Kay Trogdon of Lazy T4 Outfitters, setting up camp and taking hunters into many areas of the Bitterroot National Forest, including the Selway, Lolo Creek, Gird Creek and even through the Stock Farm into the Sapphire Mountain range. He enjoyed helping hunters find their trophy elk to take home. He shared many stories of these adventures, which were always filled with laughter and good times. He was a favorite guide among most hunters he came into contact with because of his “Old West Cowboy” attitude.

He went to work for Clark Brothers Construction, sawing logs throughout western Montana making Forest Service roadways. Clark Brothers also worked highway construction, and Ivan got to work on the I-90 project from Bozeman Pass to Livingston, MT. It was on this job that he met his first wife, Judy Juhnke. Judy later joined Ivan in the Bitterroot. They married, settled in Woodside and had two girls, Sonya Marie and Sunny Louise.

In 1980, Ivan and Judy divorced, and Ivan left the Bitterroot and went to work in the oil fields in Plentywood, MT. He worked there until he was injured in an oil-well fire where he sustained severe burns to his back and arms.  Ivan remained in Plentywood for a time and worked for a rancher who raised cattle and harvested grain. During this time, he met and married Sharon who had three daughters.  It was well known that Ivan enjoyed drinking which often led to fighting, and at some point, one of the judges that knew him quite well strongly suggested that he seek treatment before his habit caused someone serious injuries.  So, in 1988, he drove himself to a treatment facility and got himself clean. And from that day on, he never drank again.

In 1989, he and Sharon returned to Victor and leased a portion of his father’s ranch to set up their mobile home. He went to work with Eldon Roberts in the woods cutting timber and still helped his father with his farm and had a few cattle of his own. He also continued to do some custom building on the side. One of the projects that he was most proud of was the construction of the Bear Creek Lodge in 1991, located at the edge of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness outside Victor. After he and Sharon divorced he continued ranching on Meridian and putting up hay. He and his friends, Scott and Zane, would work their regular jobs during the day and hay at night, helping each other with their fields.

In 1998, Ivan moved his cattle operation to Indian Prairie between Victor and Stevensville. He had grown his herd of cattle into a sizable operation and was enjoying life and working hard. It was during this time that Ivan invited a couple of younger brothers, Abe and Jason, whom Ivan knew were having a hard time, to come stay at his place to help them get on their feet. Abe had a small infant daughter that Ivan, a man who loved children, took a special shine to, and from that day forward Ivan was Grandpa to Mykayla. He’d take her to check and feed cows, she’d ride the tractor with him usually sleeping in her car seat and as she grew a little older loved to feed the chickens and collect eggs. It seemed no matter who the child was, they always loved Ivan, he just had a soft spot in his heart for any child.

In 2001, Ivan met his true soul mate, Marlene Bolin. Ivan wasn’t looking for anyone, and neither was Marlene, but once they met it just seemed like they were meant to be.  They enjoyed so many similar interests, horseback riding, farming, raising cattle, it was just natural. They eventually built a home on the Bolin Ranch east of Stevensville and have lived there since, raising their cattle and farming. In 2002, they enjoyed an Alaskan Cruise with family and even got to go horseback riding in Alaska. Ivan was smiles ear to ear.

In 2013, Ivan was diagnosed with cancer and chose to be treated at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Arizona. He loved the doctors and treatment he received there and always referred to it as his “resort,” traveling there several times a year for treatments or follow up visits. In 2016, Ivan had a half of beef shipped down for a special event, “Ivan’s Barbecue.” The cancer center was abuzz and they received it with joyous anticipation of the celebration. Everyone knew about that cowboy from Montana and looked forward to our visits. He just had a way, even when he was quite sick he could make everyone else smile. In 2017, Ivan and Marlene decided to get married and chose to be wed at CTCA, as they were family now and the feeling was reciprocated. As of February 2020, thanks to the care of CTCA, Ivan remained cancer free, which we were all very thankful for.

Ivan was preceded in death by his father, Ivan Lee Roy, Sr.;  and his mother, Ethel Louise Gregory.

He is survived by his wife Marlene Kay Bolin of Stevensville and her son Jason and his family of Arizona; his daughters, Sonya Marie Schwartzer (Britton) and granddaughter Isabella and Sunny Louise Roy both of Livingston. He is also survived by his siblings, Linda Roy and her son Matthew Mulkey of Missoula, Susan Roy (Les) of Victor and her children Ryan Schumann of Seattle and Dusty Lee (Cole) and children Dawson, Jorden and Ophelia of Minnesota; Lilly Brown (Terry) and her children Danielle Nicole and Mark all of Arlington, Texas; Danny of Victor and Lorri (Ethan Zimmerman) of Hamilton and granddaughter Makayla Pfieffer of Hamilton.

A Celebration of Life service and reception will be held on Friday, July 31 at 4 p.m. at the Ambrose Creek Community Park east of Stevensville. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be designated to a local cancer fund through The Foundation For Community Health, 2831 Fort Missoula Rd Suite 103, Missoula MT 59804. It is our desire that the funds be used to assist cancer patients and caregivers through education, support and to empower patients during their cancer journey. We would also like to thank all the doctors, nurses and entire staff in the ICU at the Community Medical Center for their care and devotion to Ivan during this traumatic time in our lives.