Tyler Markuson

Funeral services for Tyler L. Markuson, 55, of Ekalaka were held May 10, 2017, at the Carter County High School gymnasium in Ekalaka with Pastor Steve DeFord officiating. Burial will take place at a later date.

Family received friends on May 9, 2017 at Stevenson Funeral Home in Ekalaka. Visitation continued on Wednesday at the Chapel and prior to the service at the Carter County High School gymnasium.

Tyler passed away very suddenly on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at Dahl Memorial Hospital.

Tyler L. Markuson was born May 23, 1961 to Milton and Janice (Malmquist) Markuson in Ekalaka, MT. He was the third child in a family of four children. He attended the O'Fallon Creek Country School through the fifth grade, and then the Ekalaka Grade school to finish up his elementary years. He went on to graduate from CCHS in 1979. After high school, he attended Billings Vo-Tech for diesel mechanics training. Although his education in diesel mechanics has been very handy over the years, his real motivation for quickly and temporarily leaving the ranch was to be able to be closer to his future bride.

Tyler always knew he wanted to be a cowboy, and always made it very clear that he was NOT a farmer. He loved to rope, ride, and be around cattle. Tyler started riding at a very young age, and spent the majority of his childhood on the back of a horse, either ranching, rodeoing, or playing around with his siblings. He broke his first horse when he was nine years old. This was the first of MANY horses he rode and broke over his years. He was an all-around hand in the branding corral, and was quite particular about how things should be done. In his recent years, he was very proud that his girls were trained well enough that he could step away and his branding would still go exactly as he wanted.

In June of 1979, Robin Schmidt tagged along with a friend who was going to the Meyer branding in Ekalaka. Tyler was not immediately smitten with Robin, as she had let a few calves back when they were gathering, which was simply not acceptable to such a cowboy. Afterwards, she told her friend, "I think he's pretty stuck on himself, and I can't believe you thought I would like him!" Tyler married Robin Schmidt on July 16, 1982 in Billings, MT.

In 1983, they moved back to the Markuson Ranch where they began their family and ranching career, ranching with his father and grandfather. It didn't take long for him to get Robin trained in his ways of doing things, and she quickly became a good hand, as well. Together, they had spent their nearly 35 years together continuing to build and develop Markuson Ranch. Tyler never made any ranch decisions without running his ideas by Robin. They were truly partners in everything they did. He was an analyzer and his decisions to make improvements were always well thought out. His family used to tease him about how many miles he put on his 4-wheeler just driving around.

One of his son-in-laws recently said, "What's the point of living on the best place on earth if you can't take it in every now and then?" Tyler knew every pipeline, well, fence, draw, tree, and sagebrush on every acre of the ranch. Besides being a cowboy, Tyler was also a mechanic, welder, large machine operator, and all-around jack of all trades. For the last year and a half, he was blessed with an incredible side-kick, Dave Loudermilk, who quickly became part of the family.

Tyler enjoyed fishing and hunting, and never seemed to do it as often as he would have liked. He was a volunteer firefighter for Carter County for several years, and if it was lightening, you could count on him sitting on "Tyler's Knob" keeping an eye on the countryside. He was a member of Ekalaka Track and Arena, Carter County Weed Board, and a local brand inspector for many years.

Tyler was the proud father of three girls, Tara, Jennifer, and Ami. His girls always joked that God had quite a sense of humor giving him three strong-willed daughters. Tyler was perseverant and determined to teach his girls some of the things he knew, although at times, he probably wondered if he was making any progress.

His girls would say now that they are very grateful for all the lessons they learned from their Dad about cattle, horses, and haying. He was very grateful to have three wonderful sons-in-law to even out the score, and thoroughly enjoyed all the fun times he and Robin had with all six of their kids. He was so looking forward to being a grandpa.

Tyler was an honest and humble man. He had a way of always making people feel welcome, greeting everyone with a smile and a hello, and always had a comment about the weather. He will be greatly missed by his family and the wonderful community of Carter County.

Tyler is survived by his loving wife, Robin; daughters, Tara (Clay) Smith of Buffalo, WY, Jennifer (Logan) Bird of Volborg, MT and Ami (Matt) Nies of Ekalaka, MT; parents, Milton and Janice Markuson of Ekalaka, MT; father-in-law, Richard Schmidt of Billings, MT, and mother-in-law, Kathy Nylund of Whitehall, MT; sisters, Karen (Les) Kreitel of Ekalaka, MT, Carla (Troy) Peterson of Rapid City, SD; brother-in-law, Rick (Rosemary) Schmidt of Laurel, MT; and sisters-in-law, Chris (Kevin) Turman of Whitehall, MT, Stacy (Kurt) Johnston of Dillon, MT, and Jamie Schmidt of Whitehall, MT; his aunts and uncles and several nieces and nephews.

Tyler is preceded in death by his brother, Steve Markuson; grandparents, Magnus and Olive Markuson and Gus and Lima Malmquist.

We are really going to miss you, Dad. Your legacy will live on in us, and your future grandchildren. We promise to keep things running just like you would have wanted. We love you. -Robin, Tara, Jen, and Ami

Should friends desire, memorials may be sent to the Ekalaka EMT's or Ekalaka Track and Arena.

Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at http://www.stevensonfuneralhome.com