Douglas Marston

Funeral Services for Douglas Marston 78, of Ekalaka, will be 1 p.m. Friday, January 21, 2022 at Stevenson Funeral Home Ekalaka with Pastor Steve Deford officiating. Burial will follow at Beaver Lodge Cemetery.

Doug passed away January 14, 2022 at Benifis Great Falls Hospital.

Doug was born on June 15, 1943 in Miles City, Montana to Malcolm Douglas and Lucille (Welch) Marston. His first months of life were spent living in a dugout in the Powderville area and they then moved to Ekalaka, Montana. In 1945 his sister Sherry was born. In September of 1949, Doug entered Ekalaka Public Schools and graduated from Carter County High School in the spring of 1961. Following a year spent in a body cast as a result of back surgery, he entered Eastern Montana College in the fall of 1962. Doug spent some years working and others going to school. He found himself working many interesting jobs during this time. One of the more interesting jobs was teaching a year in a one-room country school in Willard. Doug finished his Bachelor degree in History and Political Science in the summer of 1972. Then in the fall of 1972 he married Penny Rae Keyser of Ronan Montana. Doug worked as a bartender in Billings until 1986.

In the spring of 1986, Doug moved back to Ekalaka and went to work at the Mainstreet Market for Vernon and Linda Boggs and then Roger and Deb Kortum, after they took over, working seven months of the year for over 30 years. The other five months Doug owned and operated The Red Greenhouse. He enjoyed the people of the Ekalaka community and serving them and will always be remembered and appreciated for his ability to cultivate and provide beautiful and plentiful gardens. Garlic was his specialty enjoyed by so many in the Ekalaka area and beyond. Doug enjoyed providing a farmers market in Ekalaka for locals as well as traveling to Miles City, Montana, and participating in the farmers market there. Doug was proud of the fact that he usually came home empty handed having sold out.

Doug appreciated his time in nature as an avid fly fisherman, excellent fly tier, gardening and bird watching. His love of the Dodgers, baseball card collecting and reading were also treasured pass times. Doug believed in playing an active role in his community and did so as a member of Ekalaka Lions Club, Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Montana Democratic Party and Montana Historical Society. He enjoyed and supported Montana Shakespeare in the Park and did not want to miss one.

Doug is loved and will be missed by his sister, Sherry (Ivan Fats) Jardee; brothers, Bim (Jodeen) Marston, Jeff (Char) Venhaus. Nieces and Nephews Ivan (Bonnie) Jardee, Nate (Monica) Marston, Katie (Kris) Thatcher, Jason Schulz, Wilson Venhaus, Great-nieces and nephews Kylee and Kimberlee Jardee, Aubrey, Layne and Declan Marston, Reata, Carter and Cooper Thatcher.

He is preceded in death by his mother, father and step parents Emil J. (Van) Venhaus and Lahoma Burch Marston.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau

Doug has gone fishin'!!