Harry Joseph 'Bud Behrman
Harry Joseph 'Bud” Behrman
Harry Joseph 'Bud” Behrman, 93, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008, at Boundary Community Hospital.
Services were Monday at Free Methodist Church with Pastor Lowell Carlson officiating. Interment was at Grandview Cemetery.
Bud was born Jan. 30, 1915, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, to H.H. and Mary Klein Behrman.
Bud was baptized and raised Roman Catholic. When he was two years old, his parents moved via covered wagon with their herd of cattle to Loring, Mont.
Bud was raised on the family farm there, attending schools in Loring and Lorejoy, Mont.
After high school, Bud left the family farm, and spent the next few years riding freight trains and seeing the country while working odd jobs.
Bud met his future wife in Boundary County, where he was working on a harvest crew, and was the cook for the crew. He married Ethel Skelton Oct. 14, 1939, in Malta, Mont.
Returning to the Northwest, Bud worked as a mechanic, millwright, building roads and as a cat skinner.
They lived in Sandpoint, where their oldest daughter, Marie was born. They then spent a few years in Pomeroy, Wash., where their second child, Marilyn, was born.
The Behrmans then settled on the Skeltons family ranch north of Moyie Springs. Other than a couple of adventurous mid-life years spent in northern Alberta, Canada, they lived at the ranch the rest of their lives.
Four more children were born. They were Myrna, Bruce, Marlene and Marva.
Bud worked at several local mills as a mechanic and millwright, and then started his own mechanic/welding shop on the South Hill in Bonners Ferry, and later at his home.
His logo was 'Weld everything but a broken heart.'
In the mid 1960s, Bud eased out of that business and got into raising Yorkshire pigs. He later got into the cattle business, raising Santa Gertrudis and introducing them to Boundary County.
Many will remember Bud and Chester the Bull, showing him and promoting the breed at the local fair, other Inland Empire fairs and as far away as Denver. Getting out of the cattle business in the early 1980s, Bud then developed and operated a gravel pit on his property.
Never one to be challenged by a new and difficult project, Bud planted a blueberry patch when he and Ethel were well into their 70s. Bud was still out working and delegating work in the patch two days before his death.
Bud enjoyed his many friends. He was renowned for his camp-style coffee that was strong, bitter and always hot on the stove when friends stopped. Bud loved to play practical jokes, and anyone who knew him well, will have a story about him 'getting one over on them.'
Bud was a hardworking and honest man, innovative and inventive in whatever endeavor he was involved in. He took great pride in being 'old-fashioned' and preserving a way of life that is quickly disappearing.
Bud was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 66 years in December 2005; parents; and great-granddaughter Amber Rose.
Bud is survived by his children Marie Tashoff (Phil) of Moyie Springs, Marilyn Zottneck (Jerry) of Albuquerque, N.M., Myrna Behrman of Bonners Ferry, Bruce Behrman (Kathy), of Moyie Springs, Marlene Bouis (Chuck) of Lewiston and Marva Maring ( Louis) of Bonners Ferry; a sister, Bette Dyrdahl of Helena, Mont.; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bud's name may be made to the National Rifle Association or Shriners Children's Hospital.
Family and friends can sign Bud's book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com .
Bonners Ferry Funeral Home handled arrangements.