Jesse Russell Gleason

Jesse Russell Gleason (Russ) was born March 23, 1935, in Choteau, Montana to Jesse Leon Gleason and Alyce Mae Jacobs, and died at the age of 87 on July 8, 2022, in the Benefis Teton Medical Center (BTMC) in Choteau, Montana.

Russ graduated from Choteau High School in 1953 and then spent three semesters at the Montana School of Mines in Butte, where he worked in the Kelley and the Mountain Consolidated mines. He delighted in telling stories about his roommate who collected sticks of dynamite in a box under his bed, but he never seemed to be in the thick of it when others were “blowing the M off the mountain in Dillon,” or being suspended for other such shenanigans. Russ took classes that he would talk about for years, such as quantitative analysis and technical drawing. He spent the month of September 1955 at a surveying camp in Divide, MT. The culminating project for camp was to draw a map of the area. He was surely proud to show that map to his kids in later years.

Russ was awfully lovesick for Miss Mary Lou Ely at the time, and found it difficult to concentrate on his studies, so he decided to quit school early and in 1955 he joined the U.S. Navy with two friends from high school. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor, where he spent many hours painting the USS Walker DD 517. “Join the Navy and learn a profession,” he said in a letter to Mary. “I think the only profession they want me to learn is painting.” Which was ironic, since his own father was a painter by trade. He did get to do a lot of swimming, which was something Russ loved and mentioned many times in his letters to Mary, saying, “it’s a very inexpensive way to spend the day.” He was even a designated “swimmer,” should anyone ever go overboard and need rescuing. (Nobody ever did.) Always an avid photographer, Russ took a camera to Hawaii and sent home many slides over his two years in the Navy. His children very fondly remember watching slide shows and hearing stories of his adventures in Hawaii, Australia, Japan, Samoa, and Hong Kong, with the favorite slide being a blurry picture of a shark alongside his ship. After “going together” since July 20, 1952, Russ finally married his sweetheart from Fairfield on January 18, 1957, while he was home on leave from the Navy. In February Russ was back in Hawaii, onboard the USS Fletcher DDE 445, and Mary continued at the Columbus School of Nursing in Great Falls. They carried on writing to each other almost daily until Russ was discharged from the Navy in October 1957. Subsequent to serving his country, getting a college degree was always the plan, so Russ and Mary later went to Montana State University in Bozeman, where she earned her Bachelors in nursing and he earned his Bachelors in Agricultural Education in 1963.

They passed their love of learning and value of education on to all five of their children, the first two of whom were born in Bozeman. With Joe and Stacy their family was begun. Heather was the next child to be born, after Russ and Mary went to live and work on the Ely family dairy farm (Teton Dairy) southeast of Fairfield. This is where they would spend the rest of their lives. Here they raised their five children, welcomed several foster children through the years, and were a huge influence on many more through their service in the Church and community. Russ never let a young man go without a white shirt and tie, even if he had to give away some of his own. Russ was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 29, 1961, and was a faithful, active member for the rest of his life, serving in numerous positions in the Church, including service as the bishop of the Fairfield Ward from 1972 until 1980. Russ and Mary were sealed in the Cardston, Alberta Temple on November 21, 1963.

Due to the demands of farming and dairying, there wasn’t opportunity for extended vacations, but the Gleason’s sure enjoyed overnight camping trips, picnics, visits to Glacier Park, and swimming in the Fairfield pool. They took several trips to Salt Lake City for General Conference when Russ was bishop, and a memorable trip to Expo '74 (World’s Fair) in Spokane, where Russ and Joe competed against lumberjacks in a 2-man crosscut saw competition. The lumberjacks were supposed to give them a 15-second head start, but Dad and Joe were sure they started in earlier, as father and son were doing so well. When he was 29, Russ was afflicted with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis, which left him with painful and stiff joints, especially in his hands and feet, but there is certainly nobody who could ever claim to have heard him complain, even though milking cows and fixing machinery must have been very arduous. Over the years he tried all sorts of folk remedies, including wearing copper bracelets, taking apple cider vinegar, and stinging himself several times a day with bees he acquired from neighboring beekeepers.

Anyone who was around him for more than about a minute knew that Russ loved music. He sang all day long. Every conversation was punctuated with snippets of songs that fit in with the topic–from Hank Snow to ABBA, the Beach Boys to Homer and Jethro. He loved Broadway tunes and classical music. Car trips always included Jim Croce, John Denver, and Bread. When he wasn’t singing, he was whistling, humming, or playing harmonica. He sang bass in any choir he could join, including the choir at church and the Fairfield Community Choir. He served as President of both for years, which really just meant making lots of phone calls, to be sure everyone knew about the next rehearsal or performance, and he was diligent in his role. Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” was quite possibly Dad’s favorite piece of music. The 1959 recording with Leonard Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony was very often the family alarm clock. Many a morning they awoke to the opening clarinet glissando resounding up the stairwell. Mary learned to play “Rhapsody in Blue” on the piano for him. Fauneil and Jessica were especially blessed by Russ and Mary’s endless support as the youngest girls sang and violined through lessons, music camps, concerts, honor choirs, recitals, and tours. Russ and Mary went to every performance that they could make, and even some rehearsals. In his final months, and days, Russ still sang every word to his favorite songs.

Russ is survived by: his children, Joseph (Sheri) Gleason, Stacy (Rich, Jeff) Brening, Heather (Tyler) Moulton, Fauneil (Luhi) Purcell, Jessica (Joseph) Bruno; his grandchildren, Justine (Gleb) Petrov, Randi (Mike) Shamo, Jesse Gleason, Katherine Moulton, Jonathan (India) Gleason, Lauren Brening, Tessa Bruno, Joseph Moulton, Brandon Purcell, Elizabeth Moulton, Klyde Bruno, Lily Purcell, McCann Purcell, and Terry Bruno; and great grandchildren, Ashton Shamo, Tanner Shamo, Jacob Gleason, Adaline Gleason, Packer Shamo, Dellah Gleason, Oliver Petrov, and Vienna Shamo.

Russ was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, his sister Fauneil Orth, and great-granddaughter Simone Petrov.

Russ’s family would like to thank the women at Front Range Assisted Living Center who took such good care of Dad and become such good friends to us all. And thank you to the staff at BTMC, who made Dad so comfortable during his last months.

Funeral arrangements are being made by Croxford Funeral Home and services will be held on Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 11:00 at the Fairfield Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Luncheon at the church will follow burial at Sunset Hills Cemetery, Fairfield. To share condolences with the family, please visit www.croxfordfuneralhome.com

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