James Montgomery, 66, died Sept. 2, 2018, in San Francisco, California.

James Robert Montgomery was born August 25, 1952, to Robert and Carol (Mills) Montgomery. The third of nine children, Jim attended Wyard School, a two-room country school in Wyard Township, and he later graduated from Carrington High School.

As a boy, Jim was a natural with horses, and he could handle with grace and ease horses too spirited for many others. Jim was a classic farm kid, learning and working hard on his parents’ grain farm and cattle ranch west of Carrington. He loved motorcycles and horseback riding with cousins and friends, and he enjoyed time with them at favorite farm-kid spots like Hawks’ Nest, Dover Dam, and Green’s Grove. In his free time and at his best, Jim was an avid reader and athlete, and he was a fine thinker. Jim very much enjoyed time with friends, family, grandparents and cousins, and especially his older brother Richard.

Jim left North Dakota in early adulthood. He married Susan Wheeler in 1977. They moved from Carrington to Montana to farm, and eventually they moved to northern California. Jim worked as a shipwright in the naval yard in Alameda as well as a carpenter in high-rise construction in San Francisco. And in 1978, Jim and Susan welcomed their beloved daughter Brooke.

Wherever they lived, Jim was loved by family and friends.  He had an unusual but relatable sense of humor, and people were drawn to him. He was a very deep thinker, even if he did not speak much. None of Jim’s family ever heard him speak ill of anyone, and that was a much-loved trait about him. Even as an adult living in the city, Jim loved animals and farming.

Susan shared that people from across the country were calling upon hearing of Jim’s death.  Even though Jim struggled with addiction and was not able to maintain connections in the difficult years culminating in his death, people remembered him as he used to be—a good friend, interesting, really smart, deep but with a unique sense of humor. Friends and family who loved Jim will miss connecting with him about the people, places, and ideas that moved him.

Jim is survived by Susan (Wheeler) Montgomery (Los Angeles, CA), daughter Brooke (Craig) Roth, grandsons Hudson and Becker Roth (Los Angeles, CA), mother Carol Montgomery (Carrington), brothers Lee (Fargo) and Ron (Jamestown), and sisters Ann (Flagstaff, AZ), Sue (Mandan, ND), and Jennifer (Frank Cummings) Montgomery (Salisbury, NH). Jim was preceded in death by his father Robert, brothers Richard and Scott, sister Kay, and grandparents Lewis and Gerda (Watne) Mills and David and Ardell (Rindy) Montgomery.