Theodore 'Ted' Gerhardt Urban

Theodore "Ted" Gerhardt Urban, as he wrote, "took that long journey never to return" under the loving care of the staff at Daniels Memorial Healthcare Center on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018. At the age of 86, he died peacefully.

A service will be held Saturday, Feb. 10, at 1 p.m., at the Opheim Community Church with burial per Ted's explicit instructions to follow.

Ted, as most people knew him, was born Sept. 12, 1931, to Alfred and Agnes (Stannebein) Urban, on the farm his parents homesteaded just west of Richland, Mont. He attended Highland School and went on to graduate in 1950 from Opheim High School. Having grown up on the farm and ranch, it was a natural transition to make a living raising grain and cattle.

He spent very few days without cowboy boots and polyester pants. Living through the Great Depression, he saved everything, just in case one might have a use for it later. From an early age, he enjoyed building things. A bale loader is still parked next to the home he was born in and an air compressor he built in high school is used to this day. He truly loved being on the farm, watching sparrows out the kitchen window or deer visit the farmyard. Many a Sunday afternoons were spent taking a drive to check out the countryside. He last visited his beloved home in June of 2017.

He often told stories of the happenings of Northeast Montana. He vividly recalled the snow storm of 1964, noting "the next morning, I looked out the door and the countryside looked like the Arctic!" He owned a D-4 Cat, spending many hours pushing snow and helping to keep the country roads open. He loved cameras and taking pictures, especially the novelty of the Polaroid. He left behind innumerable pictures of neighbors, family, antique cars and snow.

In 1974, he married Frances Delores (Boehm) Urban and went on to have three children. Ted was so proud of his children and all of their accomplishments.

He enjoyed traveling, packing the van and tooling about Montana and into Canada. He often spoke of his 1976 trip to China. His retirement years were spent at the Nemont in Glasgow; he treasured the companionship of his cats and his radio was always on.

He experienced many adversities in life, including the death of his father in 1941. Life lessons were learned from our father and friend, some in what to do and others in what not to do. Throughout it all, his Lutheran heritage and attending church on Sunday remained an important part of his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alfred Urban and Agnes Stannebein Urban Gunther; his step-father, Herman Gunther; and infant granddaughter, Abigail Ilecki.

He is survived by two daughters, Karen Baatz, her husband, Perry, and their son, Matthew, of Fargo, N.D., and Janice Ilecki, her husband, Adam, and their children, Bennett and Annabelle, of Brown Deer, Wis.; one son, Eric Urban, his wife, Sarah, and their children, Isaac, Elizabeth, and Matthew of Helena, Mont.; and his former wife, Frances Delores Urban, of Fargo, N.D.

Waller Funeral Home in Scobey was in charge of arrangements.