U.S. Marine Laid to Rest in Hinsdale

He died alone and was buried, with everything he owned, in a plywood box at a small cemetery in Hinsdale, Mont. That is the end to the story of Marine Bruce Powers, age of 79, after dying in the dementia unit of Valley View Home. As a widower and estranged from his remaining family, Powers was left in the hands of the county to be buried.

For those reasons, he was buried in a funeral plot owned by the county on Feb. 6. The only attendees were the mortuary staff, Sheriff Tom Boyer, director of Valley View Home Wes Thompson, members of the American Legion Honor Guard, officiant Doris Tollefson and myself, the Courier's publisher.

The circumstances of his death did not rob him of his dignity nor did it fail to honor the time in which Powers served this country honorably. Taps echoed through falling snow and a biting breeze as the smell of sulfur emanated from rifles firing a twenty-one gun salute as the American Legion laid their brother to rest under the picturesque ridge of Hinsdale's south bench landmark.

As best we can discover, Powers was born and raised in Oregon. At the age of 29 he joined the Marine Corps in 1969-it is uncertain whether he was drafted or volunteered-and he remained on active duty as a Field Radio Operator until 1975 but managed to avoid service in Vietnam. Instead he was discharged honorably in his mid-30s from Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina.

According to Sheriff Boyer, Powers' first marriage gave him two daughters before he divorced. He then followed a lifelong dream to move to Montana where he settled in Billings. While living in Montana he remarried to a Billings woman, Tracy Powers, who would precede him in death at the young age of 58 in 2014.

Tracy Powers' obituary reads, "In December 2006, Tracy married Bruce Powers, and they had seven-plus happy years together. They enjoyed movie and dinner dates, and spending time with friends."

He is survived by his step-children and step-grandchildren, Danny (Chastity) Davis, Austin, Texas, Alyssa (Chris) Bergeron, San Diego, Calif., Anthony Davis, Dallas, Texas, and Noelle Davis, Billings; three grandsons, Blake, Aiden and Rylen Bergeron as well as his biological daughters from whom he was estranged. He was also survived by two brothers.

Boyer said that the county commissioners and Bell Mortuary were instrumental in making the ceremony possible and laying the veteran to rest.