Ed Beck

Funeral services for Edward W. "Butch" Beck, retired foreman of the Sheridan County (Mont.) road department, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. Pastor Ron Martin-Dent will officiate at the service at Plentywood Lutheran Church, Plentywood, Mont. Interment will be in Outlook Cemetery, Outlook, Mont. Ed died Tuesday evening, Aug. 4, 2009, at Sheridan Memorial Nursing Home in Plentywood, three days after his 83rd birthday.

Ed was born Aug. 1, 1926, in Sherwood, N.D., the son of Carl "Charley" and Agnes (Neubauer) Beck. Both of his parents died before Ed was 5; he was raised by his aunt and uncle, Paul and Alma Neubauer, in Sherwood. Ed graduated from Sherwood High School in 1944. He worked on farms in the area until he entered the U.S. Navy in 1945.

After his discharge, he returned to North Dakota and married Agnes McCrory Coutts July 15, 1949, at Plentywood Lutheran Church. They lived in Bowbells, N.D., where Ed worked for Peter Kiewit and Sons Co. as their crusher foreman, traveling from one construction site to another, and he worked as a welder at Minot's Cargill Elevator. He later ran the Enco service station in Bowbells, before they moved to Outlook in 1959, to work for Leonard and Margaret McCrory.

For six years they leased the Harley Robinson farm north of Outlook, where Ed and Agnes raised just about everything livestock, poultry, hay, small grains, canned produce from their extensive gardens, milked cows, harvested eggs, and enjoyed a basically self-sufficient lifestyle. Ed later owned and operated the Outlook Garage, doing service work and selling Datsun and Mazda cars and used vehicles. In 1978, they moved to Plentywood, where Ed was the foreman of the Sheridan County road department. He retired Aug. 1, 1996, his 70th birthday.

Ed was active in the Outlook Fire Department, the American Legion and served on the Highland Lutheran Church board. While Sheridan County's road department foreman, he was elected president of the Montana Association of County Road Supervisors. An avid card player, Ed dealt poker at the Spot, Bullpen, Golden Wheel and Cassidy's in Plentywood. He always maintained large vegetable gardens, and enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Ed was preceded in death by his wife of almost 52 years, Agnes, March 15, 2001; by his parents, Charley and Agnes Beck; his stepparents, Paul and Alma Neubauer; a brother, Raymond Neubauer; and an infant grandson, Justin Beck.

He is survived by: two sons, Darrell Coutts and his wife, Mary K,, of Minot, and Paul Beck and his wife, Val, of Plentywood; by eight grandchildren: John, Robert, David and Lorrie Coutts and Terrie Daniels, Evan and Jeana Vert and Amber Degele; and by 10 great-grandchildren: Melissa, Robbie and Linley Coutts, Chad Coutts, Eric and Nicole Daniels, Randi and Lyndon Coutts, and Madison and Jayden Degele. He is also survived by a brother, Dave Neubauer of Mohall, N.D.; and four sisters: Mabel Buhler and her husband, Bill, of Dairyland, Wis., Addie Vig and her husband, Duane, of Mohall, Bernice Arsenault and her husband, Frank, of Littleton, Colo., and Eleanor Neubauer of Bismarck, N.D.; and by a sister-in-law, Phyllis Neubauer of Arizona. Also surviving is Ed's companion, Cyrilla Bakken of Plentywood.

Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood has charge of arrangements.