James Leland Tilzey passed away on April 28, 2022, in Helena (Mont.), following a long battle with Parkinson’s and dementia. The fourth of eight children, Jim was born on October 20, 1938, to Harold and Clare (McCauley) Tilzey in Wolf Point (Mont.).
During the 1940s, the family lived in various towns near Fort Peck dam but moved briefly to Spokane (Wash.) during World War II. Immediately following the war, Jim and his family returned to Fork Peck. In 1946 they moved to Piltzville, not far from Missoula, where Jim attended the nearby Bonner Grade School. It was there that Jim had his pet chicken Tweety, and the family had a dog named Mickey. In 1954, the Tilzey family moved into Missoula proper, where Jim graduated from Missoula County High School in 1956 and worked at least one summer as a highway construction flagman. Jim started college in 1956 at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he pledged the Sigma Chi Fraternity, graduating in June of 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. His family came for graduation and attended the World’s Fair. While at the University of Washington, Jim was in Navy ROTC. In the summer of 1957, he deployed aboard the USS Wisconsin BB 64. During that voyage the ship sailed across the equator on its way to Chile, earning Jim the “Ancient Order of the Deep.” On the return trip, the ship passed through the Panama Canal, and made port in Guantanamo, Cuba.
After graduation Jim worked for Boeing at missile silos near Great Falls (Mont.), then was transferred to Garrison (N.D.), Butler (Mo.), and finally to Huntsville (Ala.). Missing the western mountains, in 1967 he went to work for ITT Federal Services Corporation in their Western Operations at Vandenburg Air Force Base in southern California. One of the highlights of his career was the opportunity to work in Antwerp, Belgium, for eight months in 1976. That same year, Jim also earned his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in computer science from the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Jim had a huge garden and orchard in southern California where he also would run with his German shepherd, Bandit. After retiring from ITT in 1998, he moved to Sequim (Wash.), where he again planted more fruit trees (especially apples), and grew raspberries, blueberries, green beans and corn. His Labrador retriever Daisy especially loved eating an ear of fresh corn. In October 2019 Jim moved back to Montana to live near his sisters, and not far from his son Ken in Big Fork. Jim loved the outdoors: hiking in the Bob Marshall with Ken; skiing in southern California, Montana, and the Italian Alps; bagging an elk with his cousin Bill Cain on Fleecer Mountain; and hunting and fishing many rivers and the Pacific Ocean on trips to Alaska with his brother Duke, son Ken and nephews Dan and Scott. Jim was especially proud of being a Gold Life Master bridge player with 2800 master points and having run several marathons.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Clare, his three older siblings, Harold, Sally and Duke, and younger sister, Cathy. He is survived by his son Ken, two grandchildren, Allison and Eric, and his sisters Faye, Patty and Joyce.
The Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, June 25th, at 10:30 a.m., at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Montana Highway 69, south of Boulder, Montana. Following the Mass, the graveside ceremony will be held at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Helena, with lunch afterwards at the Anderson, Stevenson & Wilke Funeral Home at 3750 North Montana Avenue. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations made in Jim’s honor be sent, as a regular gift, to Saint John the Evangelist Cemetery and Church, PO Box 205, Boulder, MT 59632.
Service Schedule
Funeral Mass
10:30 a.m.
Saturday June 25, 2022
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church
Montana Highway 69
,
Burial
Following the Mass
Saturday June 25, 2022
Resurrection Cemetery
Helena, Montana 59602
Reception
Following the Burial
Saturday June 25, 2022
Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home
3750 N. Montana Ave
Helena, Montana 59602
Service Schedule
Funeral Mass
10:30 a.m.
Saturday June 25, 2022
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church
Montana Highway 69
,
Burial
Following the Mass
Saturday June 25, 2022
Resurrection Cemetery
Helena, Montana 59602
Reception
Following the Burial
Saturday June 25, 2022
Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home
3750 N. Montana Ave
Helena, Montana 59602
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Pat says
So sorry to hear of Jim’s death. I have not heard from him for several years, and he always called on my birthday ,and Christmas, and I thought he might have passed. Sorry to hear of the suffering he and his family must have dealt with. Jim was a wonderful friend who helped me thru many difficult times and he was a wonderful example to my children. My boys also send their condolences.