Butch Andresen

Bartel Walter Andresen Jr. (Butch), age 78, of Poplar, Montana, passed away at his home on August 10, 2026, from natural causes. Butch was the son of Bartel (Barney) Andresen, who homesteaded at Poplar in 1915, and Thelma (Herting). He was born on July 28, 1948, in Wolf Point, Montana. Butch will be remembered always for his deep love of family and his boundless generosity.

He loved sports, especially baseball, and was an avid skier his entire life. He worked for several years as a professional ski instructor at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado and at Snowbowl ski area near Missoula, Montana, and was an excellent mogul skier. He was proud to have taught his nieces, nephews, and friends to become expert skiers at Bridger Bowl, Showdown, and Bear Paw ski areas. He began skiing while attending Montana State University in 1966 and continued skiing every winter, including this past season. Holding a pass to Showdown Ski Area, where he spent the winter of 2026 doing what he loved most: skiing with his family.

Butch attended schools in Salem, Oregon, and Poplar, graduating from Poplar High School in 1966. He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Montana State University in 1970, where he was also a proud member of the Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) Fraternity. He furthered his education in the graduate program at Texas A&M University, studying Feedlot Management.

Following his studies, he returned home to the family farm in Poplar. For the next 10 years, after spring-seeding with his father, he would hit the road to run a custom-harvesting crew cutting wheat from Oklahoma to Montana. He dedicated the rest of his life to farming in the Chelsea community. For several years, Butch hosted student interns from Brazilian agricultural colleges, teaching them American farming practices while helping them improve their English and mechanical skills. They quickly became part of his extended family-and, of course, he taught them how to ski (despite there being no ski resorts in Brazil!).

Butch had a great love for children. For many years, he supported Save the Children to assist with education costs overseas, and he was a supporter of Bigger Sky Kids in Wolf Point.

Agriculture was the core of his life. He grew certified wheat seed, constantly experimented with new crops and farming methods, and was a passionate proponent of conservation tillage. He was a respected guest speaker on the topic across both the U.S. and Canada. He spent many years on the Montana Certified Seed Growers Association Board, the Montana State University Experiment Station Advisory Board, and the Montana State Extension Advisory Council. He was always willing to try innovative soil conservation and tillage practices, heavily inspired by his father's stories of the Depression, when fields would erode away from the wind.

Butch was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Galen Richard Durkin; his sisters, Leone (Kenneth) Walter and Elyse (Charles) Matejovsky; and his nephew Alan Matejovsky.

He is survived by his sister, Alice (Boone) Whitmer; his sister-in-law, Joyce Birkenstock; and 11 nieces and nephews who were incredibly special to him: Allison, Wyatt, Shelby (Irene), and Carolyn Whitmer; Karen (Phillip) Fruchtl and Ron Walter; and Charlene Matejovsky, Janice (Paul) Rumore, Paul (Cindy) Matejovsky, Barbara (Larry) Olson, and Jeanne (James) Rolph.

Well known to his college friends as "Black Bart", his life was an everyday adventure.

Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 22 at the Greenwood Cemetery in Wolf Point, Montana. A gathering to celebrate his life will be held in Wolf Point following the autumn harvest; with the specific date to be announced in September. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel of Wolf Point has been entrusted with the arrangements.