Verlan Hines, age 89, of Billings formerly of Miles City.

Verlan passed away at the age of 89, on Thursday May 27, 2021, in his apartment at the Springs at Grand Park Assisted Living in Billings, MT. He was sleeping peacefully while being comforted in the arms of his loving wife and lifelong partner Alice. He was under the care of Stillwater Hospice since Sept 11, 2020.

Lester Verlan Hines was born Nov. 9, 1931 in Burlington, CO, to Lester and Verna Hines.

As a child, Verlan grew up on a ranch in Arapahoe, CO, in a little sod house. His dad started him out young, teaching him to break, ride & train horses. He was a natural & at the early age of 7 he competed in the 9^th annual juvenile rodeo in Denver, CO & was one of the youngest competitors. He won 3^rd best dressed cowboy of all the little cowboys and won 6^th place among all the contestants, winning him a pair of cowboy cuffs. He saved up the money he earned until he had enough to buy his first horse to train and sell (he did this against his dad’s better judgment). It was only a few months later when a gentleman offered him double what he paid for the horse, which he was happy to accept. He never looked back & continued to accomplish whatever he set his mind to.

Verlan’s dad, Lester, became a stock contractor, contracting his 1^st rodeo in 1939. Verlan was very much involved in all aspects of the ranch & rodeo life. At the age of 10 or 12, he started competing in rough stock events & jockeying, winning many races around the neighboring states. Verlan trained the bull “Chico” as well as 2 Shetland ponies, for the clown acts his brother, Darwin, performed at the rodeos. He taught this bull to perform many tricks on cue. Some of these tricks were lie down, sit up, roll over & kneel at the end of a performance. You were also able to ride & use him to pull a small buggy in the parades. Verlan was always kept busy, whether actively competing, helping behind the shoots, tending to the stock & being a pick-up man until he enlisted.

He attended & graduated from Arapahoe High School in Arapahoe, CO, graduating in 1949. He continued his education later in life, taking specific classes in Fort Collins, CO. at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, focusing on Bovine and Equestrian training. He would use these skills later in life during his ranching career.

After graduating High School, he joined the Army National Guard in Denver, CO. as an infantryman. In 1952, when the draft was being enacted, he & 4 of his buddies from the National Guard decided they’d like to try to enlist before the draft & serve together. First they went to the Army Recruiters Office; he told them he couldn’t take all 5 of them at that time. So they went next door to the Navy Recruiter, only to be told they couldn’t guarantee they could all stay together, and since Dad didn’t know how to swim, they decided to move on. Across the hall was the Air Force office, where all were enlisted and allowed to serve time together. He was a munitions specialist, serving during the Korean War. After spending 8 months spread across TX, CO, & NJ, he was sent to Europe to serve his duty. While overseas he spent time in North Africa (Morocco Region), Chateauroux, France & the majority of his time in the Munich, Germany area. In 1955 he returned back to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, CO, until he was transferred to Altus, OK, before being honorably discharged in Feb. 1956. During his time he earned the National Defense Service, Good Conduct, & Army of Occupation medals.

While still in the National Guard and helping at the rodeo’s in his off time, he had caught the eye of a young lady in the crowd. It was at an Arapahoe Alumni dance when she met Verlan for the first time. After dancing throughout the night he asked if he could take her home, but she declined saying her date would take her home. He found out she liked to attend the dances at Wild Horse, soon he was showing up there regularly. It was at one of those dances he asked her if she would write him while he was overseas. She happily agreed, soon he asked if she could write every day and she obliged. He would correspond, send gifts & see her on his leaves of absence home. When he came back from Germany in 1955, he knew he only had a few months in Denver, CO before being transferred to Altus, OK, so; while attending the Denver Stock show he stopped at a jewelers & when he returned to Arapahoe, he asked Alice out. He soon told her to open the glove box something was in there; when she opened it & saw the ring box, she told him to “pull this car over & stop!”. Needless to say she said yes, & they married Aug 20^th, 1955 in Kit Carson, CO. They moved to Altus, OK, in October, until his discharge.

They moved to Terry, MT to work for his Dad on the Hines Ranch on Cherry Creek; two of their children, Alison (1956) & Lisa (1957), were born. Art Reukauf & Chuck Hubing asked Verlan to manage a ranch in Amidon, ND & in 1958 he moved his family there. In the five years they were there, they had two more children, Larry (1958) & Lori (1960). They moved back to Terry in 1962, leasing land from his dad, so he could run his own herd of cattle & horses.

They lived in Terry until 1966 when they moved out to the ranch. His ranch life was busy with caring for the cattle, horses, haying, branding, fixing fences or whatever else needed done from sunup to sundown. He always made sure his family was well cared for. He only missed 1 extracurricular activity, which was 1 day of a wrestling tournament in Broadus, Mt, due to a severe white out storm. In 1974 he finalized the purchase of the Hines Ranch from his Dad, brother, Adelaide Harms and Dan Haughian. Verlan was a very good friend and neighbor to many people living on Cherry Creek. He was ready & willing to help a neighbor in need.

Verlan put his veterinary skills to good use on the ranch & word soon spread. Besides having the job of castrating at brandings, he was able to perform emergency C-sections as well as many other surgical procedures needed in an emergency. He was very proficient at preg testing cattle. He also did an amazing job of stitching up horses after running thru a barb wire fence. He was often called upon by friends and neighbors to come and help them out when his skills in these areas were needed. His expertise did not end there. He could build anything he saw or had an idea about. He was a carpenter, building an addition to the trailer house, and many sheds over the years. His welding abilities where put to use as well by making gate openers, feeders, and a variety of chutes to mention a few.

During his time on the ranch he continued to be involved in Horse Racing. He dreamed of someday owning his own championship race horse. He saved his money as he could and in 1975 he attended a horse sale in OK and saw his dream come true. He purchased Gotebo Sr as a yearling. This horse was Verlan’s pride and joy. Much time was spent over the next year having his sons help break and get him track ready. As a 2 year old he won many races competing in Futurities in MT, WY, CO & SD. He earned High Point out-of-state race horse in SD. He also tied for 6^th leading 2 year old and 16^th in the nation of all starters. For these achievements he was invited to be an honorary guest at the South Dakota Quarter Horse Racing Associations annual awards banquet. He also earned a spot as a shareholder as a Diamond Classic Stallion. As a 3 year old he was fouled on his 2^nd race out in Denver, injuring his legs. This injury impeded his performance & after the season ended he retired him to use for breeding to other mares from all over. It was at this time he enrolled in an Equestrian Breeding and Insemination course at the college he had attended in Fort Collins, Co many years ago, earning his certification.

In 1984 a trade of land with the BLM was done for a portion of land by the Yellowstone River, known as Calypso, for a portion of land on Cherry Creek. With this land he was able to grow hay & a variety of feeds allowing him to winter his cattle closer to home. In 1991, Verlan decided to join the Catholic Church thru RCIA classes, because; he didn’t want Alice going to church alone anymore. He decided to semi retire in 1993, & sold the ranch.

He then moved to a house with acreage on Kircher Rd in Miles City MT, keeping busy raising cattle, ostrich, & sheep. He also had several acres he irrigated & hayed. In 2002 he decided to work at Mac’s Frontier land as their courtesy driver & shop hand. He really enjoyed working with & getting to know Kelly Kracht & socializing with the customers he transported. After leaving Mac’s, he kept busy with things around the house building whatever he decided in his garage with all his power tools and saws. He enjoyed watching the trucks on the Interstate going by their house. In 2012 he sold the property on Kircher and moved to house in town on Palmer.

While living on Palmer he became close to the neighbors on either side. He continued to stay busy in his shop/garage & building more sheds. He enjoyed watching the birds feed on the bird feeder hanging in a tree in the front yard & watching old cowboy shows on TV. He legally changed his name to Verlan Lester Hines in 2014.

During his 65 years of marriage to Alice, they took annual vacations to visit her family as well as his, that were still living in the Kit Carson/Burlington area. This trip was always planned around Cheyenne Frontier Days, where he would stop & take in a day of the rodeo before continuing on to Kit Carson. Prior to their 25^th wedding anniversary, Alice won a free ticket for a cruise on the Mexican Riviera, which they booked in celebration of their anniversary. While on the cruise they visited several ports of call & took in many sites. There was a priest on board & he renewed wedding vows for them along with a few other couples on board. They enjoyed the trip so much; they had hoped to go on another someday. In 2007 they flew to Maui, HI to visit Lori & her family for 10 days. They took in many sites & activities, with the highlights being Parasailing, Ziplining & a day tour to Lanai on a catamaran. They loved eating all the fresh fruits, vegetables & flowers grown locally. They especially enjoyed the fresh Mangoes grown on the cottage property where they stayed. In 2014 they traveled to TX to meet up with family to visit & attend Alison’s wedding before losing him to ALS in 2015. The following year, in Sept, 2016, they went to Ruidoso, NM to attend the ceremonies held for the All-American Futurity with Larry & his wife, as he was affiliated with one the horses qualified to run. They stayed for the races & the horse sale the days following. A few months later they headed to Salt Lake City, UT meeting up with Lisa & her family for a National Scooter Bike competition. They were able to watch their great-grandson compete & were very proud of his performance. McKenna & her family also drove there to take part in the family time. They tried to attend all the grandchildren’s High School graduations, weddings & a few of the extracurricular activities they were involved in when possible.

All the years of hard work caused him to require major neck surgery in 2016. This was a long hard recovery that took its toll on his body. He has been suffering from TIA strokes on & off for several years. After his last one in Aug, 2020 around their 65^th wedding anniversary, he had to move to an assisted living facility in Billings, where he spent his last days.

He will always be remembered for his big welcoming smile, willingness to visit, and sparkling blue eyes. He was kind hearted and loving, but, stern when he needed to be and everyone’s respect.

He is preceded in death by his father Lester, mother Verna, brother Darwin, son Alison, grandson Corey, & his niece Darla.

He is survived by his wife Alice, children Lisa (Mike Fox), Larry (Linda), Lori (Frank Border); 7 grandchildren Katy Hines (Eric), Lacey (Daniel Fox), Jay Border, Shawn Murphy (Natalie), Casey (Matt Maurio), Jesse Hines (Al), and McKenna Hines (Steven); as well as 8 Great-grandchildren Charles, Elijah, Kingston, Camden, Rennick, Stella, Hudson & Sutton, as well as nieces and nephews.

A special thanks to Stillwater Hospice and The Springs at Grand Park staff for all the loving care they gave Verlan during his last months. He loved the whirlpool baths & telling his aide Hailey all his old ranch stories!

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 15^th, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. followed by a Vigil service at 6:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Miles City. Rite of Committal will follow in the Eastern Montana Veterans Cemetery with full military honors. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com. Memorial in Verlan’s honor may be made to the charity of ones choice.

Service Schedule

Family to Receive Friends

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday June 15, 2021

Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home

1717 Main Street

Miles City, Montana 59301

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Vigil Service

6:00 p.m.

Tuesday June 15, 2021

Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home

1717 Main Street

Miles City, Montana 59301

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Funeral Mass

10:00 a.m.

Wednesday June 16, 2021

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

120 N Montana Ave

Miles City, Montana 59301

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Interment with Full Military Honors

Following the funeral mass.

Wednesday June 16, 2021

Eastern Montana Veterans Cemetery

Cemetery Rd.

Miles City, Montana 59301

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