John W. "Jack" Young

John W. "Jack" Young, 81, passed away due to natural causes at his Lewistown residence on Friday, February 28, 2025. Funeral services was held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, in the Commercial Building at the Blaine County Fairgrounds. Burial followed in Kuper Memorial Cemetery. Jack's family has suggested memorial donations be made in his memory to the MSUN Rodeo Scholarship Fund or the North Central Montana Stockgrowers Association Scholarship Fund. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Please visit Jack's online memorial page to send a card or leave a message of condolence for his family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Jack was born on March 10, 1943, in Havre to William W "Bill" and Una (Barber) Young. He was raised on the family ranch along Clear Creek south of Chinook. Jack attended the Ada and Bear Paw Elementary schools, then went on to graduate from Chinook High School in 1960. In 1963, he married Helen LaBuda in Big Sandy, and the couple bought a ranch near his parents' land. They had three sons whom they raised on the ranch before divorcing in 2007. After the divorce, Jack continued ranching until three years ago. At that time, he moved to Lewistown.

Jack enjoyed rodeos, reading, and dancing. He enjoyed calling square dances as recently as a few years ago. He also loved to feed with his team. In high school, he won the Montana High School Rodeo District 1 All Around Cowboy award. Jack enjoyed his involvement in the calcuttas, and he was a great mugger in the wild horse race. He was a member of the North Central Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Eagles Club. He was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2022.

He was preceded in death by his son, Bill Young; parents, Bill and Una Young; brothers, Scott and Bob (Susie) Young; and sister, Lora Lee Clark.

Jack is survived by his significant other, Merla Hamilton of Lewistown; sons, Nick Young of Nashville, TN, and Gordon (Sheila) Young of Lloyd, MT; grandchildren, Merle (Devyn) Young, Kevin (Katelin) Young, and Casey Young, all of Lloyd, and Emily Beard of Havre; sisters, Shirley (Gerald) Keller of Turner and Barbara (Ted) Crowley of Chinook; brother-in-law, Lonnie Clark of McLeod; sister-in-law, Kaye Young of Havre; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.