Garry Edward McCutcheon
December 21, 1952 - December 8, 2005
Quarterback
Garry Edward McCutcheon, 52, a gifted athlete and widely known hunting and fishing outfitter, died unexpectedly on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005. After years of pain stemming from old football injuries, exacerbated by time and an outdoorsman's lifestyle, his pain has finally ceased.
Garry was born Dec. 21, 1952, in Hackensack, N.J., to Evy and Edward McCutcheon. When he was a year old, his family moved to Berwick, Penn., a small town on the Susquehanna River in the Pocono Mountains. Garry's love of hunting and fishing began when he was a boy, as did his attachment to Labrador retrievers.
While at Berwick Area High School, he was quarterback for the Bulldogs. “He's got everything,” his coach told the local paper. Garry's rushing, passing, running and team direction were considered “tremendous,” “gifted,” “the best.” He was “a real leader on the field,” an extremely talented quarterback whose teammates called him Crazy Horse. His talent and skills earned him a place on the Big 33 and All State squads. He was courted by just about every college in the country, but when he graduated from high school in 1972, he chose Ohio State University. There, he studied pre-med and continued his amazing football career. Always a quarterback, he was already playing varsity games his freshman year. He went on to play in four Rose Bowls and be named an All-American.
After college, Garry went to work for Monet Jewelers in Columbus, Ohio, and then Chicago. He married Pamela Jane Friedman on March 23 and 24, 1984, first in a small Jewish ceremony and then in a civil ceremony; both in Cincinnati. When he was promoted to regional manager for Monet, they moved to San Francisco, and later Los Angeles. Their two bright and beautiful children were born in California, Patrick Scott in 1987 and Elizabeth Lee in 1988. Garry promptly christened Elizabeth “Bear,” and the nickname stuck.
While in California, two Labs, Scotch and Bach, also joined the family. Although Garry had dozens of Labs in his life, Scotch wiggled his way into Garry's heart like no other. The two hunted and fished together, and Scotch's special qualities prompted Garry and Pam to start breeding Labs.
Following Garry's lifelong dream, the family moved to Montana in 1988. Garry and Pam purchased an Orvis fly shop at Chico Hot Springs and bought the Talcott House, a historic Livingston mansion, which they converted into a bed and breakfast. For six years Pam ran the B&B;, while Garry opened and ran Big Sky Flies & Guides, a fishing and hunting outfitting shop in Emigrant. Garry loved the outdoors. He hunted birds with the dogs and big game with a passion that filled the freezer and covered the walls with trophies. Always a fly fisherman, he learned the Yellowstone River's subtleties and seasons and shared his knowledge and love of the sport with anyone who asked.
Garry and Pam sold the Talcott House in 1994 and moved into the Paradise Valley. In addition to running the fly shop, Garry managed the Bullis Creek Ranch, where he taught Patrick to hunt and where the two of them spent countless hours exploring the backcountry. The family moved to Bozeman in 2002, so that their children could attend Bozeman High. Garry continued commuting to the Paradise Valley until he sold the fly shop this year.
Garry had two knee replacement surgeries in recent years and repeated surgeries for herniated discs in his back. He suffered from chronic pain all his adult life, a direct result of pushing his body on the football field, playing through the pain. The price he paid was enormous. In recent months he had begun to consider himself crippled by those injuries, aging faster than he should and no longer able to hunt, fish or even walk the dogs - those activities that had sustained him for so many years.
Garry is survived by his wife, Pam, and children, Patrick and Elizabeth, of Bozeman; mother, Evy McCutcheon of Berwick, Penn.; brothers David (Pam) McCutcheon of Orwigsburg, Penn., and James (Alexis) McCutcheon of Shoemakersville, Penn.; sisters Linda McCutcheon of Brooklyn, N.Y., Margaret (Robert) Chaya McCutcheon of Blakeslee, Penn., and Jan McCutcheon, of Bloomsburg, Penn.; mother-in-law Helen Banker, of Cincinatti; sisters-in-law Debby Kreindler of Tucson, Ariz., and Diane (Mark) Kutzko of Cincinnati; brother-in-law Tony (Mandy) Friedman, of Cincinnati; and 15 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Edward McCutcheon.
A memorial service will be held at 12 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005, at the Bullis Creek Ranch in the Paradise Valley (turn right off U.S. 89S at mile marker 49, and go two miles), followed by a reception at the nearby Brisbin Hall from 1 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Garry's name to the Humane Society of Park County's Stafford Shelter in Livingston, or the Heart of the Valley Humane Society Shelter in Bozeman.
**Obituary taken from
Bozeman Daily Chronicle of Montana**
