Reece Ferris Silve Jr

Reece Silve, (known as Bud) was born on January 18, 1940 in Great Falls, MT to Reece F. Silve Sr. and Amelia (Finn) Silve. He passed away at the Tobacco Root Care Center (TRMCC) in Sheridan on April 3rd at the age of 82 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Bud attended school in Fairfield and graduated from Fairfield High in 1958. After graduation he went to Northern Montana College in Havre where he earned an associate’s degree in 1962. He got his pilot’s license while attending college. This license went along with his innate personality of being a young daredevil with fear of nothing.

He joined the Air National Guard in 1962. He attended basic training at Lackland Airforce Base in Texas. He was part of the “Honor Crew”, an award bestowed on only the finest graduating classes of airmen. Part of his duty was welding on airplanes since he was an excellent welder. He served in the Air National Guard from 1962 to 1968.

But Bud’s first love was farming and in order to help his father and devote more time to farming, he quite the guard in 1968.

In 1970 his family sold the farm at Fairfield and bought the farm on the East Bench near Twin Bridges. His mother and father lived in a house near Sheridan and Bud and his dad worked the farm on the bench. It was a hard life getting started and flood irrigating was a huge part of it.

In 1968 Bud married Marilyn Peltonen and they had two children, Reece III and Raymond Lyall. Bud and Marilyn were later divorced and Bud married Maryanne Davis in 1980. In 1985, their daughter, Sarah Marie Silve was born, to the joy of her four big brothers, Reece, Raymond, Wade and Brad Bacon.

Bud was preceded in death by his father, mother and son, Raymond Lyall.

You won’t see Bud’s name on any fancy plaques, but his name is written in the Book of Life. In 1997 he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, the most important choice of his life. Bruce Bobb, Larry Mehlhoff and many of his Christian friends in Sheridan helped him make this decision.

Though Bud’s material rewards in this life were few, his family draws strength from knowing there are no more tears and no more pain and we will all meet again.

Bud is survived by his wife, Maryanne Silve, his daughter, Sarah Marie Silve, his son, Reece Ferris Silve III, (Rachel), grandsons, Finn and Paxson and step-sons Wade (Esther) and Brad (Jennifer) Bacon, step-grandaughters, Mariana and Valorie Bacon and step grandson, Bret Bacon.

The family wishes to give heart-felt thanks to the wonderful, compassionate and hardworking staff of TRMCC.

A celebration of Bud’s life will be held in late June, at a time yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ruby Valley Bible Church of Sheridan at the Mehlhoff Ranch or the Raymond Silve Ball Park in Sheridan.