Theodore Rex Montgomery

Theodore Rex Montgomery was born February 5, 1925 in Deer Trail, CO to Theodore Alexander and Gladys (Teten) Montgomery.  He had one older brother, Harold, and one younger sister, Gwendene.   Ted grew up 16 miles west of Deer Trail.  He attended a small country school, Stewart School, for 8 years.  He then went to Agate High School and graduated in 1942.   After he graduated he did  farm work and also worked as a cook at Fitzsimons before he was drafted Feb. 26, 1944.  He was shipped to Germany by way of England, France, and Belgium.  He was assigned to the CO 1 121st INF REGT 8th DIV.  He was in the Battle of the Bulge, lived in a fox hole for 28 days where he froze his legs and was sent to a tent hospital in Belgium for 12 days and then to the general hospital in Paris, France for 33 days.  He was then sent back to his outfit in Germany.  He then joined a patrol called Grover’s Ghosts.  After that, he was sent to Fort Ord in California.  He worked in the kitchen again. He was discharged from the army from Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 5, 1946.  He described his service as a great experience for a farm boy that had never been any place.   Ted came back to Deer Trail and bought a place with his uncle southwest of Deer Trail and had a dairy there.  After a terrible storm and most of their cattle were lost, they sold the place.  He then went to work riding horses and one fell with him and he wound up in the hospital at Fitzsimons with a body cast.  After he got better, he was a co-owner of a café in Deer Trail.  This is where he met Eleanor Dugan.  They got married Nov. 29, 1947 at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Deer Trail.  To this union was two daughters, Betty (1951) and Diane (1956.)  They lived in Deer Trail.   Ted had many jobs.  He worked on the railroad from 1951 to 1961, construction work,  and at the missile plant for over a year.  He worked for Arapahoe County and drove a truck for 20 years.  The last 3 years he was an assistant boss.  He retired and still raised cattle.  After his retirement, he   began to spend more time raising and training donkeys.  He enjoyed teaching them tricks.   After Eleanor passed away in June 2006, Ted continued to live alone in their house 1 mile west of Deer Trail (Gobbler’s Knob) until Feb. 2013.  With his falling eye sight, he moved to Prairie Creek Living Center in Strasburg where he lived until his death March 1, 2018.   Ted was an active community member belonging to the Golden Age  Senior Citizens, Legion Post 121, VFW Post 9491, active in the Republican party, and the Knights of Columbus.   He is survived by his daughters: Betty (Chuck) Haight of Deer Trail, CO and Diane (Jim) Craven of Agate, CO; 5 grandchildren: Clifford (Rebecca) Haight of Centennial, CO, Richard (Tara) Haight of Deer Trail, CO, Ralph (Monica) Haight of Brighton, CO, Jason Craven of Aurora, CO, and Jena (Steve) Ashcraft of Jacksonville, NC.  8 great-grandchildren: Ben, Corey, Margie, Kailey, Hannah, Tessa, Trenton, and Tyson Haight, 3 sister in-laws: Mary Saltzman, Betty Dugan, and Elva Dugan of Greeley, CO, and numerous nieces and nephews.   He was preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor, his brother and sister, his parents, and his grandson in-law Justin.