Lyle Arthur Walstad, 85, of Opheim, MT died on June 13, 2018, at Valley View Nursing Home. He was born in Opheim on May 26, 1933, to Elmer and Alvina (Stein) Walstad, the 3 rd of 4 children and the only boy. He graduated from Opheim High School in 1951, where he was active in football, basketball and student council. He attended college at MSU Bozeman for a brief time before coming home to help on the family farm due an illness in the family. Lyle married his high school sweetheart, Nina Flickinger, on June 20, 1953, at Holy Family Parish in Glentana. From this union, seven children were born. Lyle was a farmer his entire life, and in the off seasons he worked for Roland Arnold Construction during the construction of Highway 24, and was a heavy equipment operator for Allen Stuber, building many dams in the area and doing snow removal at the Opheim radar base. He was involved in many community activities and served on various boards in Valley County over the course of his life: the Opheim School Board, Farmers Union Grain Board, First Security Bank Board, and Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital Board. Lyle was also actively involved in the initial development of the Cottonwood Inn.
Lyle lived an active life. He played catcher on the local baseball team for many years and traveled to tournaments in Canada and made many friends. In his late 60’s, he became an avid runner, and participated in many Governor’s Cup races, Fort Peck Dam runs and one Ice Breaker. In 2006 Lyle climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with his son, Michael. Lyle and Nina did much traveling in the winter time, and together they saw the entire world. His passport included stamps from all seven continents: favorites were Mexico, much of Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, many different islands, and repeated visits to Australia and New Zealand. His fondness for Guinness can be traced back to this spirit of adventure, having been introduced to “mother’s milk” on the opposite side of the globe from where it is brewed. Eventually, he would travel to Dublin and enjoy it at its birthplace. He and Nina made friends wherever they went, and hosted many of these new acquaintances on their farm, giving people from all over a chance to see the life of an American Farmer.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Nina; his sister Carol Williams of Edgewood, WA; his seven children – Donette Johnson of Opheim, Michael (Sherri) Walstad of Chester; Paulette (Steve) Knaff of Glasgow; Lynnette Nelson of Opheim; Darrell (Maggan) Walstad of Glasgow/Opheim; Annette Walstad (John Rausch) of Helena; and Suzette (Steve) Stokke of Belgrade.
Nineteen (19) Grandchildren: Lisa George of Edmonds, WA; Sarah Morales of Opheim; Stephanie Johnson of Washington, DC; Bethany (Matt) Schatzke of Billings; Stacee (Dru) Lyders of Tuscon, AZ; Patrick (Gaylen) Walstad of Billings; Greg Knaff of Omaha, NE; Laura (Isaac) Vigil of Glasgow; Loren (Kendra) Nelson of Billings; Luke (Ashley) Nelson of Opheim; Leah (Kevin) Johnson of Highwood; Ellen Walstad of Glasgow/Opheim; Abigail, Emma and Isabel Rausch of Helena; and Jacob, Paige and Hanna Stokke of Belgrade.
Sixteen (16) Great grandchildren: Tree, Kenya and Eli George, Keleigh Morales, Kenzee, Adalyn and Lylah Lyders, Payton Heilbrun, Hazel Walstad, Hailey and Jason Vigil, Kaelynn Canfield, Nash and Briggs Nelson, Elliot and Avery Nelson; and many other relatives.
Lyle was preceded in death by his parents Elmer and Alvina; sister and brother-in-law Viola and Floyd McDowell; sister and brother-in-law Shirley and Lee Conley; brother-in law Wayne Williams; grandson Erik Walstad; and sons-in-law Brad Johnson and David Nelson.
Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Montana Chapter, 3010 11th Ave N, Billings MT 59101 https://www.alz.org/montana/ or the charity of donor’s choice.