The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

Funeral Services for Lloyd Carroll, 85, of Ekalaka were held June 1, 2021 at Stevenson Funeral Home - Ekalaka with Pastor Scott Kiehn officiating. Burial followed in Beaver Lodge Cemetery.

Lloyd passed away May 25, 2021 at Billing Clinic.

Lloyd was born on September 14, 1935 in Ekalaka, son of Charles and Anna Ambrose (Frye) Carroll. He attended grade school in the Opeechee area and in Ekalaka and graduated from Carter County High School in Ekalaka. Lloyd married Betty Loehding on July 28, 1960 in Ekalaka. The couple was blessed with four children, Llane, Maureen, Leigh, and Beth.

Upon graduating from high school, Lloyd worked for Bud and Edna Asbury. After Lloyd and Betty married, they worked for Willie and Gladys Bonefield in the Capitol area. They later worked for Wayne and Gladys Cox in the Webster community. In 1963 they moved to the Martin and Thelma Abel place on Harmon Creek. They have resided there ever since. The ranch gradually expanded with purchases from Bickels, Browns, Harkins (Figg) and Langley (Gundlach). A long-standing lease with the Woolston family on Sheep Mountain has served as pasture for a yearling enterprise.

Lloyd was highly regarded in the community for his love for the land and his neighbors. A neighbor and friend, Jesse LaBree, wrote this about Lloyd on the occasion of the ranch's 50th anniversary: "Lloyd could be visiting with someone or a group and notice what was happening outside the corral or in the area. He might see a kid having trouble with his horse, maybe about to have a wreck and run over and save the kid, or someone's horse about to break the reins. Also, if someone was coming to a corral gate with hands full, he would be there to help them through the gate...he would be the first one there to help. He almost always went on a run. He is always willing to drop what he is doing to go help a friend or neighbor. He is the first one to get there in the morning and the last one to leave when the work is done."

Lloyd served on the Dahl Memorial Hospital Board and the Carter County Fair Board. He was a former chair of the Carter County Chamber of Commerce and was an active member and former director of the Carter County Stockgrowers Association. Lloyd was a charter member of St. Elizabeth Lutheran Church.

Lloyd enjoyed following his children, grandchildren and extended families to their various high school and college activities. He and Betty treasured their trips off the ranch traveling to the northeastern states for fall foliage as well as Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming, Missouri, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and all over Montana. Trips almost always found a way of connecting with friends and relatives.

Lloyd is survived by his wife, Betty; his children, Llane (Sharon) Carroll of Ekalaka, Maureen (Curt) McCamish of Billings; Leigh (Vic) Hansen of Sheridan, WY; Elizabeth (Kevin) Bailey of Sheridan, WY; seven grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Anna, and 10 half-brothers and sisters.

Memorials may be directed to the Carter County Museum, the Carter County Community Foundation, St. Elizabeth Lutheran Church, or the charity of one's choice.