James Arthur Englert

James Arthur Englert, known to family and neighbors as Jim, was a rancher and longtime community figure from the Clarks Fork Valley area of south central Montana. He was not a nationally known public figure, and no Wikipedia page or major news coverage exists for him. What follows is drawn from the obituary published by Smith-Olcott Funeral Chapel of Red Lodge, Montana, and Carbon County News, which is the only substantial public record of his life currently available.

Jim was born on August 15, 1946, outside Byron, Wyoming, to Archie and Elsie Englert. He grew up working on farms and ranches in the valley, attended school in Warren and Fromberg, and graduated from Bridger High School in 1964. Ranching became his life's work. He eventually bought his own spread east of Bridger, Montana, where he raised cattle and, somewhat less enthusiastically by his own account, sheep. He also worked for a time on the Bridger Carbon County road crew.

In 1973 he married Edna Stevenson. Together they ran the ranch and raised a family that included their daughter, Codi, and the four children Edna brought from a previous relationship, Jim, Nanci, Kelly and Danny Stevenson, all of whom he treated as his own. Beyond the ranch, Jim was active in the civic life of Bridger and the surrounding valley. He was a longtime supporter of 4-H and FFA, served on the county fair board and donated to its youth awards for years, sat on the Bridger School Board, and was involved with both the Bridger and Fromberg senior centers. Neighbors remembered him as someone usually seen driving around with a Jack Russell terrier or a pug riding on his lap, often on his way to visit and trade stories with friends, a pastime his obituary describes him as having been especially good at.

His wife Edna died before him, as did his parents and an infant brother. He is survived by his sister Marlene, his daughter Codi, his four stepchildren, twelve grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and one great great grandson, a family that spans four generations.

Jim died on October 4, 2026, at the age of 80. The cause of his death has not been made public in the available reports. His obituary was published by Smith-Olcott Funeral Chapel of Red Lodge, Montana, through Carbon County News. He will be laid to rest beside Edna in the Bridger Cemetery, near his parents, in a graveside service scheduled for the morning of October 19, 2026, to be followed, fittingly, by a gathering at the Bridger Senior Center for the kind of storytelling session his friends knew him for.