John Hoover Wiegand

John Hoover Wiegand was born September 16, 1929, the 4th of 5 children born to Charles and Katherine Wiegand, on the land they homesteaded west of Shelby.

He attended Simla school, and graduated from Shelby High School in 1946 at the age of 16.

On Feb 9, 1952 he married Theadora Simmes, and was drafted into the army in May.  The couple lived in San Luis Obispo, California during basic training. He was assigned to serve in the signal corps, coding and decoding messages in Germany and France during the end of the Korean conflict. He was honorably discharged on April 17,1954.

Afterwards, he lived and worked on the original farmstead where he was born and raised, taking over in 1956 when his father retired. That farm has remained under the Wiegand name for over 100 years now.

During those years, 5 children were born to John and Theo, followed by 10 grandchildren and 9 great-granddaughters.

John and Theo enjoyed traveling in their RV, mostly to Arizona and Las Vegas, as well as trips inside Montana, including mining sapphires by hand (just as much work as farming).  He learned to facet sapphires, and enjoyed “rockhounding” as a hobby. Whether on the farm or in his travels, he seemed destined to spend his days picking rocks out of the ground.

He was preceded in death by his siblings Rose Sigurdson, Charles Jr., Marjorie Sorenson, and Kenneth.

He is survived by his wife Theo and children Linda Alexander, John, William, Laura Remington and Lucy Ruediger.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, May 3, at 11:00 AM at St. Luke's Lutheran Church. Burial to follow in Valley View Cemetery.

We’re certain that heaven is finally properly organized and everything in good running order.