Harold Picton
How do you know Harold? Please share your stories and photos, and help spread the word about this page!
Harold Picton passed from this life in the early hours of Monday morning, June 28, 2021, attended by his three sons and surviving family.
Harold was born in Bowman, North Dakota on October 6, 1932, but became a Montana citizen just ten years later when the family moved to Red Lodge, displaced by the depression.
He was the youngest son to his mother, Lillie Ruth (n?e Odell) Picton, and father, Paul Oliver Picton, who was taken from the family in the later years of WWII succumbing to a long battle with leukemia. Older brothers, Paul and John, were able to return from Duty in the European theater of war in time to see their father.
Harold did well in school, and eventually aspired to be a forest ranger. Enrolling at Montana State College at Bozeman in 1950 was a steppingstone to work with Montana Fish and Game, but also out of R.O.T.C. into a career in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve.
Harold met his future wife, Irene Anderson, at a 1960 Air Force function while both were stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana (when they met, she held higher rank). They didn't really find themselves to be a match until they discovered a shared love for wilderness camping in a borrowed Ford at -30? F. They married just a few months later on September 28, 1960, and filled intervening years at Northwestern in Chicago earning a PhD in Wildlife Physiology. Hired on at MSU, and back in Bozeman, children came in 1965, 1968, and 1971?sons, Todd, Lance, and Deric. By the time he retired from the U.S. Air Force he held the rank of Lt. Colonel, and he continued teaching public and summer courses long beyond his MSU retirement in 1994. Irene preceded Harold in death in 2004. He is survived by his three sons; and nieces, Margaret Picton (P.O.'s) and Linda Hughitt (n?e Picton) (J.O.'s).
The loss is deeply felt within the family, but it has become abundantly clear that Dr. Picton?or 'Pic,' the Wildlife Biology professor?is going to be broadly and sorely missed within a diverse and very intelligent community of Wildlife Scientists, resident wildlife enthusiasts, megafauna fans and photographers, and anyone he reached with his teaching. Pic was the hub for many people of a set of modern scientific ideas about wildlife that have had broad application and reach worldwide. The MSU Biology Department of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s housed a cadre of sorts comprising Pic & Quimby, Eng, Moore, Cameron, Irby and other luminaries, who created the scientific outlook that informs all Montana Game Management. This group of researchers represent the core of a culture that is shared by nearly all Montanans, and whose tenants of outdoorsmanship and sensible conservation cross political lines more than most beliefs.
Graveside Services with Military Honors will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 31, at Sunset Hills Cemetery. A Memorial Service will follow at 11:00 A.M. at Bozeman United Methodist Church, with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Harold's honor to Gallatin Valley Food Bank or the MSU Scholarship Fund.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com