Robert E. Willems

“I am fully aware that my youth has been spent, That my get-up-and-go has gone and went, But I really don’t mind when I think with a grin, Of all the grand places my get-up has been.” - found among Bob’s papers, author unknown.

Bob’s get-up-and-go got up and went for one final journey (hopefully to heaven) on May 10, 2024. He was born on September 24, 1926, in a log cabin on the family homestead in Dutch Coulee, near Rothiemay, Montana, the third son of Henry and Irene Willems. These three boys were first-generation Americans on their father’s side, Henry having emigrated from Holland in 1910. 

Bob attended grade school at Swimming Woman School and graduated from Hedgesville High in 1944. He enlisted in the Navy while still in school and was called into active duty shortly after graduation. Selected as an Officer Candidate, he attended Navy V-12 college programs at the Universities of Idaho and New Mexico. At the end of the war, he served for a short time on board a ship docked in Bremerton, Washington. Bob received an Honorable Discharge and returned to Montana, settling in Harlowton where he lived the rest of his life. 

Meeting Phyllis Schanke at a motorcycle hill climb in August 1948, Bob arranged a movie date. Following a whirlwind courtship, during which it seems Bob courted Phyllis’s parents as much as her, they were married on June 16, 1949, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Harlowton. He remained an active church member until he and Phyllis took up residence at Wheatland Memorial Health Care in 2019. The couple had two children, Robert A. “Bobby,” born in 1950 and Rebecca Ann “Becky,” born in 1953. 

Bob was involved in the automotive business most of his working life – one year at “Ginther and Holmes” service station, five years for Lain Chevrolet, and several years as the owner/operator of Bob’s Phillips 66 service station. In 1953, he switched gears and purchased the Jersey Dairy Harlo Creamery, which he and Phyllis operated until 1973 when Bobby took over and ran the business until his retirement in 2023. 

In 1966, Bob and Phyllis purchased Wojtowick Motors, the local General Motors dealership, and operated it as Cross Triangle Motors until 1974 when fire destroyed the business. Rather than rebuilding, Bob turned to full-time operation of a farm - ranch acquired in 1964, raising grain and a small herd of registered and commercial black Angus. Working with his son, the two Bobs evolved this into a farming-only operation. Bobby continued this operation until the farm was sold in 2019. 

Bob loved to travel and learn about other parts of the state, country and world. He and Phyllis were fortunate to see much of the world together including Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Panama Canal, as well as many parts of the United States. Their last trip together took them to Whidbey Island, Washington where they helped celebrate great-granddaughter Amelia’s first birthday in May 2017. 

Although he never earned a college degree, Bob strived to be a lifelong learner, earning credits from Montana State and Eastern Montana colleges. In 1971, Bob received a three-year part-time Kellogg Education Extension Project scholarship at Montana State University which allowed him to travel and study in Montana, the Eastern U.S., Japan, and Taiwan. To share his love of learning, Bob and Phyllis established a scholarship fund to help high school graduates from Harlowton, Ryegate and Judith Gap pursue higher education within Montana. 

Bob was an active and loyal community member – serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce, Harlowton Kiwanis Club, and Wheatland County Stockgrowers. He served two terms on the Harlowton school board and 40 years on the board of the Musselshell Conservation District. He also served on the Boards of Directors of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts and the Wheatland Memorial Hospital. He spent ten years as an Emergency Medical Technician for Wheatland County. To continue supporting their community after they could no longer actively participate and even beyond their lifetimes, Bob and Phyllis created the Willems Family Memorial Fund. 

Bob is survived by Phyllis, his wife of nearly 75 years; his son, Bob and daughter-in-law Sherrie Nash of Harlowton; his daughter, Becky and son-in-law Dale Livingston of Greenbank, Washington; granddaughters Robin Willems of Special K Ranch, Columbus, Montana; and Dawn Livingston Tait (James) of Lakewood, Colorado; two great-grandchildren, Lamont (11) and Amelia (7) Tait; and nephews Ron and Gary Willems and their families. He was predeceased by his parents, Henry and Irene Willems, brothers Archie and Frank, sister-in-law Thelma, and Phyllis’s parents, Art and Esther Schanke. 

For most of their 75 years of marriage, Bob and Phyllis were inseparable, especially during their last quarter century. In death, as in life, the plan was to maintain this “togetherness” with their cremains being placed side-by-side in a single urn and a joint memorial service held after both had passed. Perhaps he didn’t expect either of them to carry on long after the first had passed; Phyllis, however, is on her own timeline! In the meantime, “Rest in Peace, Pa. Mom is doing okay.” 

If desired, memorials may be given to Special K Ranch or any of Harlowton’s service organizations.

Arrangements are under the direction of Perkins Funeral Home. Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.perkinsfuneralandcremation.com