Frederick "Butch" Jones

On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Frederick “Butch” Jones, born February 7, 1942, finally hung up his work gloves, hammer, Bible, and a few opinions on how things ought to be done, passing peacefully after a life extremely well-lived and well-worked. Butch was a Navy veteran, farmer, rancher, logger, farrier, wood carver, fire fighter, carpenter, pastor, mechanic, foster parent, counselor, unofficial weather predictor, and self-appointed inspector of how every fence, deck, sermon, and steak should be done properly. To say he was “handy” would be like saying a tornado is “a little windy.” If something was broken, Butch could fix it. If it couldn’t be fixed, he probably told you it shouldn’t have been built that way in the first place.

Butch spent his life serving others—whether through preaching from the pulpit, helping neighbors without being asked, giving wagon rides with his beloved Belgian team (Ted and Tom), building things that not only haven’t fallen apart but will last for generations, or teaching his family the value of hard work, faith, and doing things right the first time. He believed in God, family, strong coffee, and not wasting daylight. He could often be found working from sunrise to sunset, occasionally pausing long enough to tell a story, crack a joke, or to explain why modern equipment was inferior to whatever he used back in 1974.

He is survived by his loving wife, Lila, who somehow managed to keep him mostly organized through all of life’s adventures, and his lovely sister, Sally McElroy. He also leaves behind his sons Edward (Lisa) and Russell (Laura), who inherited his work ethic, stubbornness, and ability to accidentally turn a 20-minute project into a three-day engineering effort. Butch was the proud grandfather of Melissa, Levi, Sonja (Keven), Riley, Caleb (Kaylynn), Audrey, Ben, Samuel (Kyra), Elliott, Josiah and great-grandfather to Xavier, Jyrden, Roman, Kaura, Thaddeus, Alden, and Maverick—all of whom knew that visiting Grandpa Butch always meant love, food, and lots of fun. He is also survived by many nieces, and nephews.

He leaves behind a family who loved him deeply, a community that respected him greatly, and a shop full of tools nobody is quite brave enough to organize. Heaven is undoubtedly a little busier, and rumor has it that St. Peter has already asked him to look at a gate that’s been sticking.

Butch will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and quoted often—especially whenever someone says, “There’s probably an easier way to do this.”

Memorial suggested to donor’s choice or Belt Ambulance, PO Box 74, Belt, MT 59412.

Celebration of Life, Sunday, June 28, 2026, 1:00 p.m. Neihart Community Center, 200 S Main St, Neihart, MT 59465