Brett Bushelle, 67, died on Thursday, October 6, 2005, in rural Plummer, MN.

Brett was born in Glasgow, Montana to Billy and Duska Bushelle. He grew up in Culver City, California and Forest Grove, Montana, attending school in California and at the N-Bar school on the North Fork of Flat Willow Creek in Montana. He joined the United States Air Force and was stationed in Misawa, Japan, where he met and married his first wife, Tomoko Kawamura (JoAnn). Brett returned to Great Falls, Montana in 1961 with JoAnn and Annette and continued his Air Force service until after Billy was born in 1962. He bought his familys original homestead on Hackshaw Creek near Forest Grove from his grandmother and aunt shortly before Bobby was born, and ranched there until 1967. He bought a ranch near Sebeka, Minnesota in 1967. JoAnn died in 1976 and in 1977 he left Sebeka and moved north to Gonvick and married Cindy Bourcy. They ranched in Gonvick and in Plummer and raised their three children, Jesse, Becky and Katie there.

Brett owned and operated two livestock auctions in the 70s, one in Bemidji and one in Thief River Falls. Even after the sale of the auction yards, he enjoyed his life as a cattle buyer. He spent years on the telephone and on the road, in the country, looking at cattle. Over the years he made and lost a lot of money, drank too much whisky, loved too many women and lived his life to the fullest. His blend of work and social life led him to treasured friends, many who died before him, and many who are here today. He was proud of all of his children and delighted in his grandchildren. In recent years, he especially enjoyed Jesse and Katies little girls coming to the house.

Most of us knew Brett as a cowboy. We remember him hollering at us in the corral working cattle, waving his arms across pastures with furious gestures, planting us on bulls and horses in the bucking chute and showing us how to sack a colt. He showed us how to play pitch and poker, made play-doh horses and cattle for us at breakfast, and taught us to rope tricycle handlebars. We know he was passionate about many things and loved to debate topics like politics, religion and philosophy. He always won, because none of us had as much stamina as he did to debate.

However, there were facets to his life that many did not know. In his younger years, he ran in track for the Air Force, including the Asian Games. He was a sprinter and especially enjoyed relays with his Air Force buddies. He was an avid reader and read everything from Playboy magazines to Shakespeare plays. He loved music, country ballads and rodeo dances for sure, but he also loved classics " Beethovens Ninth Symphony, Van Cliburn on the piano and Charlotte Church belting out superb opera at age fourteen. A few of us were fortunate enough to hear him play Tchaikovsky on the piano at Libbys Bar in Grass Range or in the Blue Ox in Bemidji.

He is survived by his mother, Duska Bushelle and sister, Linda Bushelle of Woodland Hills, California; aunt Muriel Vihinen of Bellevue, Washington; his children, Annette (Steve) Hill of Anaconda, Montana, Billy of Bagley, Bobby of St. Paul, Jesse (Tiffany), Becky, and Katie Bushelle of Plummer, Michelle McManus of Bemidji; niece, Akemi Yoneyama of New York; and his former wife, Cindy Bushelle of Plummer; grandchildren, Holly, Amanda and Bobby Hill, Kelly, Kyle, Shawn and Dillon Bushelle, Alexxis, Morgan and Taylor Bushelle, and Annabell Bushelle. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Tomoko (JoAnn), daughter-in-law, Karen Bushelle, father, Bill Bushelle and brother, Barry Bushelle.

Brett died on Thursday morning, October 6, 2005, in the corral at his home in Plummer, shipping calves with Katie, Jesse and Tiffany and friends. He was excited to sell at the first big sale of the year in Bagley. There couldnt have been a better way for him to leave us.

To keep with Bretts routine, services will be held at the Bagley Livestock Auction on Monday, October 10, 2005 at 2:00 pm, followed by a reception at the VFW in Lengby. Cremation will take place at a later date with a memorial stone next to JoAnn at the Sebeka Cemetery and a final fall trip to Montana where his ashes will be scattered at the family homestead on Hackshaw Creek near Forest Grove.