Henry David Yager

Henry David Yager, 77, of Glasgow, Mont., passed away on Sunday, March 16, 2014, at the Valley View Home in Glasgow. He resided at Valley View for one year and seven months.

Funeral services will be 4 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the Bell Chapel in Glasgow. Interment will be in the Nashua Cemetery.

He was born June 6, 1936, to John Emil and Martha (Fuhrmann) Yager in Glasgow. He grew up on the family farm in McCone County and attended elementary school at McCone City. He graduated from Glasgow High School in 1954.

Right out of high school he went to work for John Nass as a jockey in Havre. He also worked in farming, construction and at the Power House tunnels in Fort Peck. His true love was oil rig work. He started in the oil fields in 1962, working in the Rocky Mountain area including North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Texas and Alaska.

He did offshore drilling in Saudi Arabia and Algeria, Africa. In South America he worked in Columbia, Venezuela, Equador, also Santa Fe, Spain and the Persian Gulf. He was well known for his endurance, strength and knowledge wherever he worked. He received academic achievement because he maintained an exceptional standard of scholarship and duly earned his honor in 1960 from Odessa, Texas. He traveled the world and then moved back to Glasgow to be near family, and it was home.

He loved helping the neighbors shovel snow or whatever help they needed. He was a great story-teller, card player, and stayed fit by doing pushups and walking every day. He always had a jar of caramels on his table for the great-nieces and -nephews.

Preceding him in death were two brothers, Emil Henry, an infant, and George "Bud" Yager.

Survivors include three sisters, Frances Ellen Turner of Flaxville, Betty Leah Hirsch of Fort Peck, and Mary Ann Riddick and her husband, Dennis, of Glasgow; one sister-in-law, Virginia Yager of Nashua; and numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews.

Bell Mortuary of Glasgow is in charge of arrangements.