1914
Alton
2011
Alton L Knutson
October 17, 1914 — May 21, 2011
Alton Leonard Knutson, 96, a retired rancher/farmer and Army Veteran from Devon, passed away Saturday, May 21, 2011, at the Marias Care Center. Visitation is Friday from 1:00 until 8:00 pm at the Whitted Funeral Chapel. Graveside services and military honors will be 11:00 am on Saturday May 28th, at the Devon Cemetery. Should there be inclement weather, services will be held at the Devon Lutheran Church. The family suggests memorials be directed to the Marias Museum, 1129 1st St N, Shelby, MT, 59474, or to a charity of the donor’s choice. Whitted Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Condolences for the family may be sent to www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
Alton was born October 17, 1914 Leonard H and Nettie (Roland) Knutson on the homestead near Dunkirk. In 1917 the family built a home in Devon where Alton grew up. As soon as he was old enough Alton milked and tended the cows. After he got his first horse when he was about 10, until his retirement, he was never without one. His various jobs as a youth included delivering ‘The Grit’ (a national weekly, working in his father’s store ‘The Devon Mercantile Co’, and working on 5-men 4-team haying crews. Many winter weekends Alton and his brother Lloyd tended the winter cow camp on the Marias River.
Alton attended grade school in Devon and high school in Galata graduating in 1932 as Salutatorian. Off and on, he attended Forestry School in Missoula graduating in 1941 with a BS in Range Management. The summers of 1936 and 1937 were spent working for the forest service living in fire lookout towers near Eureka. He also worked two summers running the Knutson lambing camp as well as doing some range mapping and CCC jobs.
In February 1941, Alton was part of the first army draft training as a BAR rifleman. He was promoted to Corporal and assigned to Headquarters and later went to Engineer Officer School at Ft Belvoir, VA. He graduated in 1942 as 2nd Lieutenant and transferred to Columbus, OH, where spent his afternoons writing a manual for the Engineer Spare Parts Section so he could teach it to the others the next morning. He then transferred to Chief of School Unit and in 1943 was assigned to Engineer Spare Parts Co in Oran, Algeria where he helped establish a spare parts depot to supply both the US and Free French troops. As 1st Lieutenant he went to Ajaccio, Corsica to help equip the Free French troops staging for the southern France invasion. In August 1944 he went to Marina di Pisa, Italy to reconstruct the bombed out Fiat Airplane Building in to a spare parts depot. Alton was placed in command of the 754th only 2 weeks before he was eligible to return home. He took home leave and was discharged in March 1946.
After his discharge, Alton went to work for the Soil Conservation Service in Glasgow working mainly as an irrigation engineer. In spring 1948 he transferred to Cut Bank and in 1951he opened a new SCS office in Chester. In the fall of 1951, Alton took over the Knutson Marias River Ranch and in 1957 the government bought him out to build Tiber Dam.
Alton then bought a farm/ranch north of Cut Bank, near the Blackfeet Reservation, which he sold in 1960, and returned to the SCS, first in Caldwell, ID and then Challis, ID, as a Work Unit Conservationist. In April 1962 he accepted a job with the US Forest Service at Bly, OR as a range conservationist handling all range, recreation and land activities.
After retirement in 1976, Alton traveled, living in Missoula, Devon, and Cottonwood, AZ before settling in Conrad. In 2005, he moved into the Marias Heritage Center in Shelby.
A man of honesty and integrity, Alton was fascinating and interesting. He had an amazing memory capable of remembering detail with pinpoint accuracy. He was very knowledgeable and articulate on a great many subjects and enjoyed reading and visiting. He had a ready smile and told great stories, even on himself – such as the hotel fire he ‘remembered’ seeing – before he was born! Alton was never more at home than when he was outside riding or hiking about. He appreciated quality and was a ‘doer’ – he did what needed to be done taking the time and care to do it right.
Alton was predeceased by his parents; sister, Thelma ‘Tommie’ Saldin; brothers, Leonard, the twins Odin and Irvin, and a baby brother; brothers-in-law, Robert Saldin and Eli Johnson; and sister-in-law, Hazel Knutson. He is survived by his sister, Lorene Johnson of Havre; brother, Lloyd of Shelby; sister-in-law, Paula Knutson of Shelby; nephews, Tom (Sue) Saldin of Boise, ID and Kevin (Lanell) Dodson of the Knutson Family Farm near Dunkirk; nieces, Marie Ann (Loren) Toldness of Havre, JoAnne (Glen) Savage of Walla Walla, WA and Rev Kriss Bottino of Kennewick, WA;10 grandnephews and grandnieces, Jesse Toldness, Rachel Toldness, Rob (Erin) Saldin, Kate (Andrew) Hunter, Bill (Fereshteh) Savage, Shannon (Robert) Howie, Hannah Bottino, Aaron Bottino, Trevor Dodson, and Amanda Dodson; as well as one great-grandnephew, Gus Hunter.
Alton was a much beloved brother, uncle and friend and will be missed beyond measure.
Alton was born October 17, 1914 Leonard H and Nettie (Roland) Knutson on the homestead near Dunkirk. In 1917 the family built a home in Devon where Alton grew up. As soon as he was old enough Alton milked and tended the cows. After he got his first horse when he was about 10, until his retirement, he was never without one. His various jobs as a youth included delivering ‘The Grit’ (a national weekly, working in his father’s store ‘The Devon Mercantile Co’, and working on 5-men 4-team haying crews. Many winter weekends Alton and his brother Lloyd tended the winter cow camp on the Marias River.
Alton attended grade school in Devon and high school in Galata graduating in 1932 as Salutatorian. Off and on, he attended Forestry School in Missoula graduating in 1941 with a BS in Range Management. The summers of 1936 and 1937 were spent working for the forest service living in fire lookout towers near Eureka. He also worked two summers running the Knutson lambing camp as well as doing some range mapping and CCC jobs.
In February 1941, Alton was part of the first army draft training as a BAR rifleman. He was promoted to Corporal and assigned to Headquarters and later went to Engineer Officer School at Ft Belvoir, VA. He graduated in 1942 as 2nd Lieutenant and transferred to Columbus, OH, where spent his afternoons writing a manual for the Engineer Spare Parts Section so he could teach it to the others the next morning. He then transferred to Chief of School Unit and in 1943 was assigned to Engineer Spare Parts Co in Oran, Algeria where he helped establish a spare parts depot to supply both the US and Free French troops. As 1st Lieutenant he went to Ajaccio, Corsica to help equip the Free French troops staging for the southern France invasion. In August 1944 he went to Marina di Pisa, Italy to reconstruct the bombed out Fiat Airplane Building in to a spare parts depot. Alton was placed in command of the 754th only 2 weeks before he was eligible to return home. He took home leave and was discharged in March 1946.
After his discharge, Alton went to work for the Soil Conservation Service in Glasgow working mainly as an irrigation engineer. In spring 1948 he transferred to Cut Bank and in 1951he opened a new SCS office in Chester. In the fall of 1951, Alton took over the Knutson Marias River Ranch and in 1957 the government bought him out to build Tiber Dam.
Alton then bought a farm/ranch north of Cut Bank, near the Blackfeet Reservation, which he sold in 1960, and returned to the SCS, first in Caldwell, ID and then Challis, ID, as a Work Unit Conservationist. In April 1962 he accepted a job with the US Forest Service at Bly, OR as a range conservationist handling all range, recreation and land activities.
After retirement in 1976, Alton traveled, living in Missoula, Devon, and Cottonwood, AZ before settling in Conrad. In 2005, he moved into the Marias Heritage Center in Shelby.
A man of honesty and integrity, Alton was fascinating and interesting. He had an amazing memory capable of remembering detail with pinpoint accuracy. He was very knowledgeable and articulate on a great many subjects and enjoyed reading and visiting. He had a ready smile and told great stories, even on himself – such as the hotel fire he ‘remembered’ seeing – before he was born! Alton was never more at home than when he was outside riding or hiking about. He appreciated quality and was a ‘doer’ – he did what needed to be done taking the time and care to do it right.
Alton was predeceased by his parents; sister, Thelma ‘Tommie’ Saldin; brothers, Leonard, the twins Odin and Irvin, and a baby brother; brothers-in-law, Robert Saldin and Eli Johnson; and sister-in-law, Hazel Knutson. He is survived by his sister, Lorene Johnson of Havre; brother, Lloyd of Shelby; sister-in-law, Paula Knutson of Shelby; nephews, Tom (Sue) Saldin of Boise, ID and Kevin (Lanell) Dodson of the Knutson Family Farm near Dunkirk; nieces, Marie Ann (Loren) Toldness of Havre, JoAnne (Glen) Savage of Walla Walla, WA and Rev Kriss Bottino of Kennewick, WA;10 grandnephews and grandnieces, Jesse Toldness, Rachel Toldness, Rob (Erin) Saldin, Kate (Andrew) Hunter, Bill (Fereshteh) Savage, Shannon (Robert) Howie, Hannah Bottino, Aaron Bottino, Trevor Dodson, and Amanda Dodson; as well as one great-grandnephew, Gus Hunter.
Alton was a much beloved brother, uncle and friend and will be missed beyond measure.
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