Danny Roy of Victor went to join his parents Ivan Sr. and Ethel Louise, and his older brother Ivan Lee, to live with the Lord on Sunday, March 2, 2025. He passed away peacefully at St. Patrick’s Hospital due to complications from a stroke he’d suffered on Friday. Danny was a very special person and had many great friends. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Go, Dolphin Dan!
Danny was born on July 27, 1964 and lived his entire life on the Roy Ranch in Victor, Montana. He graduated from Victor High School where he enjoyed playing basketball, however, Danny was a “die-hard” and faithful Miami Dolphins fan since he was in grade school. He could recite statistics of the team from memory and tell you the exact number of days until the season started. And once it did, you’d find him in front of one of his TVs watching several games at a time. Of course, everyone knew where Danny lived by the 10-foot-tall satellite dish in the front yard proudly displaying the Miami Dolphins logo. And his Dolphins flag which he flew throughout the year, unless he’d lost a game bet and was forced to fly another team’s flag. This never made him too happy but he did what was right. Last year he was able to enjoy two weeks with his best friend, Todd Stevens, travelling to Arizona and Miami to watch his team in person. He had a fantastic year and was so pumped for this season to start.
Danny worked closely with his dad helping with the livestock and farming. Ivan Sr. also had Roy Excavating which Danny did with him throughout the valley and continued this work after his dad passed in 2008. Danny was a gracious person, and always ready to help anyone in the community when he had the chance. He enjoyed digging the graves for the Victor Cemetery and volunteered at the Victor Rural Fire Department for many years. When his mother became seriously ill, he was devoted to caring for her until she passed in 2019. Later he injured his back and was advised by the doctors to retire from excavating and farming. He sold most of his cows but decided to keep a few and leased the place to his brother-in-law, Les, who also took care of Danny’s cows. And since it was the only home he’d ever known and knew of his father’s dream of always keeping the entire property preserved for farming and wildlife, he partnered with the Bitter Root Land Trust and the Ravalli County Open Lands Board and put the Roy Ranch into a Conservation Easement in 2024, leaving it to remain intact forever.
In 2021, Danny became a car fanatic. With the help of a close friend and neighbor, Steve Shannon, he restored his first car, a 1936 Chevrolet. Afterwards he joined the Bitterroot Car Club and bought a 79’ Willys Jeep that he absolutely adored. He would say, “Aren’t they fabulous!” The third vehicle he restored was his beloved Dodge “Dolphin truck.” It was decked out with Dolphins pin striping and the flatbed displayed the Dolphins football field with lights and all. He was so proud of his vehicles and made an effort to enter them in all the local parades and car shows provided it wasn’t raining.
Danny was the youngest of six children. He is survived by his four sisters, Linda Roy and her son Matthew Mulkey of Missoula, Ivan Jr.’s wife Marlene of Stevensville and his daughters Sunny Roy and Sonya Schwartzer (Britton) and daughter Isabella of Livingston, Susan Roy (Les Woldstad) of Victor and her children Ryan Schumann of Washington and Dusty and her sons Jorden and Dawson and daughter Ophelia of MN, Lilly (Terry) Brown and her children Danielle Friend of Arlington and Mark (Natalie) Friend of Springtown, TX, and Lorri (Ethan) Roy of Hamilton.
Visitation will be held Thursday, March 13 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 14 at the Victor Community Church. A graveside interment will be directly after the service at the Victor Cemetery with a reception to follow at the Victor Community Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be given in Danny’s name to the Victor Volunteer Rural Fire Dept. Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com.
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