Edward Vern Spracklen

Edward Vern Spracklen, an old school cowboy and devoted husband, died in his apartment in Billings, Montana, at the age of 84. He was the eldest child of Marvin and Lola Spracklen. He was raised and grew to manhood in the Douglas, WY area. As a young man, Ed and his family moved to South Dakota to lease a ranch. While living in South Dakota, he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army in France. He and his family then moved to Cody, WY and leased a ranch close to the North Fork of the Shoshone River. It was here that he was introduced to and later married Dorothy Teeples in Cody.

In 1964, they moved to southwestern Montana and cowboyed for area ranches for almost 20 years (with a short diversion to eastern Idaho, where he worked on a local  farm and as a BLM firefighter). In 1985, they settled in Martinsdale, where he cowboyed for the next 20 years for local ranches. In 2008, Ed and Dorothy moved to Billings, where they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2012. In July 2013, Dorothy passed away.

Survivors include son Ken Spracklen and his wife Lisa of Helena; grandchildren April Spracklen of Billings, James Ellis of Slidell, La., Desiree Spracklen of Miles City, Jeremy Spracklen of Maple Valley, Wash., Heather Phrehm and husband Patrick of McMinnvile, Ore., and Justin Murphy of Denver. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren and his brother, Bill of Pocatello, ID. He was preceded in death by his wife; his son, Lee; and grandchildren Tiffany and Conner.