“He was not pretentious, not a phony,” said former Gov. Judy Martz, who served as Montana's governor from 2001 to 2005 with Ohs as her lieutenant.
Martz spoke at the funeral, along with Ohs' pastor, son, stepdaughter and nephew, former state Sen. Duane Grimes of Clancy. Martz said she will always remember Ohs' sense of humor, his “gentle smile, his cowboy hat tilted a little to the side.”
The funeral was at the Evangelical Covenant Church at the Gateway Community Center in Helena.
Ohs, 61, died last Sunday in Helena of complications from brain cancer. He was buried Friday in the Harrison Cemetery, near the Ohs Ranch in Madison County.
Ohs was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1994, 1996 and 1998. In the Legislature, Ohs rose to leadership positions in his last two sessions and later said he was most proud of efforts to get the state to buy historic properties in Virginia City and Nevada City.
He was elected chairman of the Montana Republican Party in 2005, but did not seek re-election this year.
Although he rarely spoke of it, Ohs gained national fame in 1996 when he helped broker a settlement between the anti-government Freeman group and federal agents. In his cowboy hat and yellow rain slicker, Ohs rode his horse alone into the armed compound 19 times to help negotiate peace.
Ohs was later awarded the FBI's highest civil service award for his role in ending the standoff.
On the altar near Ohs' flower-draped casket Friday sat his old saddle, adorned with his cowboy hat, boots and slicker.
Speakers talked about the many sides of Ohs' life and how he treated all people equally, be they heads of state, ranchers down the road, or the poor he helped on church missions on which he served to Mexico, Poland and Estonia.
“People were important to him and he made people important,” said Grimes, who grew up, in part, on Ohs' Harrison ranch.
Grimes talked about Ohs' early life on the family ranch near Malta, which was later moved to Harrison. As children, Ohs and his sister made a game of picking rocks out of the fields. Later, Ohs was a standout wrestler in high school and college at Montana State University.
Ohs dropped out of college just before graduation after his father broke his leg and Ohs had to help run the ranch. He earned his degree decades later when he was lieutenant governor.
Many people wept as a photo collage of Ohs' life played on two overheard projectors, set to inspirational country-western music. The photos showed black-and-whites of Ohs as a boy with his siblings, showed him as a young man holding his children as babies and, later, in a tuxedo at his children's and stepchildren's weddings. In some of the most recent photos, Ohs was obviously ill and surrounded by family.
Ohs' son Brian spoke movingly as he recalled his father's thoughtful ways, how even when he must have been frustrated at times with his four children, he never showed it.
“Anything we believe to be good about ourselves,” he said, is a “direct result” of Ohs' strong influence.
Katie Marthaller, Ohs' stepdaughter, said he loved his stepchildren as his own.
“His title was stepfather,” she said. “But somewhere along the line, he lost the step and became our dad.”
Ohs, a member of the Montana National Guard, was buried with military honors.
He is survived by his wife, Sherri, of Helena, and mother, Sylvia, of Malta. He is also survived by four children, Brad, of Billings; Eric of Pony; Brian of Bozeman; and Elizabeth Carpenter of Butte. He is survived by four stepchildren, J.D. Hartman, of Belgrade; Jessica Wagner of Belgrade; Katie Marthaller, of Gillette, Wyo.; and Brandon Boylan of Belgrade.
Other survivors include his brother Jerry of Pony, sisters Dolores Stebbins of Green Valley, Ariz. and Karen Wiederrik of Malta; seven grandchildren; and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Also surviving is Ohs' former wife, Pam Ohs, of Bozeman.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)