Sivert O. Mysse

  General Notes:

Sivert O. Mysse, age 82, of Ingomar, passed away on Sunday, August 22, 2004 at the family ranch near Ingomar.
Sivert was born on May 5th, 1922 in Ingomar, MT, the son of Sivert O. and Bertha Coltom Mysse. He grew up on the ranch and attended elementary and high school in Ingomar and graduated from Montana State College in 1941 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Following graduation he enrolled in the US Army. He served in the Signal Corps and spent the majority of World War II in Italy and Switzerland. Following his Honorable Discharge in 1945 he returned to Ingomar to operate and manage the family ranch until his death.
On August 29th, 1964, Sivert married Janet Whitney in Forsyth. They made their home on the ranch near Ingomar. He continued to manage and operate the family sheep ranch, Cherry Creek Sheep Co, Inc. which had grown to become on of the largest sheep ranches, of its time, in Montana. In 1982, he and his sisters divided the ranch and he continued his lifelong ranching ambition of raising sheep under the name of Mysse Ranch Co. Inc. and added a few head of cattle to the business. In later years he leased pasture out to some of the local cattle greats. He also continued to assist Janet in her sweater design and retail yarn business called Janknits until her passing in 2003.
Sivert had many interests in life. Being civic minded, after returning from WWII, he continued to serve his community and country. He served in the Montana House of Representatives for two terms in 1955 and again in 1957, he served as a trustee on the Forsyth School District Board for 12 years, he was a long time member of the Rosebud County Search and Rescue, Montana Woolgrowers Association, Sons of Norway, Notary of Public for State of Montana for over 30 years, member of the Republican Party, Honorary State FFA Degree, Local Honorary District FFA Degree from the Melstone Chapter, one of 64 surviving members that attended the 50 year Montana State College alumni reunion and a Charter member of the Ingomar Recreation Club of which he was Treasurer until his death.
His passions and knowledge in life were very diverse. He was a warm, kind hearted and easy going man who spoke softly with knowledge and determination. When asked, he eagerly shared his life experiences and knowledge. In addition to his extensive sheep ranching skills, he also did his civic duties. In the early 1960’s he and Swede Schlesinger initiated and brought telephone service into the area ranches. Additionally in the late 60’s he was one of the first locally to pioneer the installation of a livestock pipeline watering system. In 1976 the State of Montana selected him to help represent Montana in the Bi-Centennial Exhibit in Washington DC. He exhibited a sheep wagon at the Smithsonian Museum. He made many friends region wide in the livestock business. Many times he was the volume ram purchaser at the Montana Ram Sale in Miles City. Over the years he received many phone calls from petroleum engineers, local water well drillers and ranchers regarding geology formations for oil, gas and water well drilling. On a neighbors water well that was over 2500 feet in drilled depth he was within 15 feet of the location of the water. With his electrical engineering background there never was a shortage of electrical gadgets – From having one of the first home computers to engine analyzing scopes and television tube testing equipment there simply was nothing electrical that didn’t fascinate him. He had a knack for cooking, especially fudge and barbequing; for many years he and Janet hosted a lamb barbeque at the ranch that all the local ranchers and business people attended. He also was a long time collector of weather data and a trained local weather spotter for the National Weather Service. He was active behind the scenes for many years as the official score keeper of the District FFA conventions held in Eastern Montana. While growing up on the ranch and in Ingomar he learned to play the piano and while in the US Army he developed a taste for opera and classical music. He attended as may Opera’s as possible when he was stationed in Cassrta, Italy. He also shared his musical interest with his family through his love of playing the piano. Additional interests included taking his son’s bass fishing, photography, plumbing and electrical wiring of buildings; exploring the world via the Internet, staying in touch with friends and relatives via e-mail. He also enjoyed regularly attending Billings Blazer and Bighorn hockey games, accounting for a local business,regular trips to Ingomar, Forsyth, Miles City or Billings for parts or just to get away. In the last years he also enjoyed the weekly card games at the Jersey Lilly in Ingomar, travel to Europe to see where he was stationed in WWII, to visit an “extended” family member from Germany, time with his grandchildren and he was looking forward to returning this fall to Europe and Norway to see distant relatives.
He is survived by his three sons, Sivert, III of Las Vegas, NV, Richard of Havre, MT and Jonathan of Ingomar, MT, and two grandchildren, Kate and Jess Mysse of Roberts, MT. Sivert was preceded in death by his wife Janet of 39 years, his parents Sivert and Bertha Mysse, his brother Merton, and sisters Bernice Milam and Marie Straw.
Funeral Services will be held at 2:00P.M. Saturday, August 28th, 2004 in the Chapel of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth, Montana. Interment will follow in the family plot at the Forsyth Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday, August 27, 2004 in the Chapel of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth from 1:00PM until 7:00PM.
Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Rosebud County Search and Rescue Services of Forsyth.

Sivert married Janet Whitney on 29 Aug 1964 in Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana, United States of America. (Janet Whitney died before 2007.)