Herbert Anderson “Andy” McDonald April 27, 1930 to April 26, 2025
Written by Tim Ross
Details on Andy’s early years were provided by Barry McDonald
Andy was born on April 27, 1930, to Jack and Belle McDonald and was the youngest of four brothers and one sister. Andy was born in Eureka, Montana. This afforded him the opportunity of becoming a dual citizen, which he was very proud of. He lived his whole life on the McDonald Ranch within the Grasmere Valley in southeastern British Columbia.
So, how does a person live a full life to the age of 95? Well, maybe just a bowl of MUSH in the morning with the right mix of milk and brown sugar, followed by a good cup of tea is the secret to longevity. This was always Andy’s breakfast and it served him well.
Andy started school in the one room log school-house in Roosville, just north of the BC-Montana border, and then it was off to Fernie, graduating from Fernie Secondary School. He later attended school in Edmonton where he studied for, and attained, his Mechanics ticket. He also completed a course to AI cows, which he put into practise in the Valley.
Andy was destined to be a Rancher. His oldest nephew Barry said, “He was like an older brother that I adored and always wanted to do everything with. I was pretty well his shadow as he was always great to be around. As I grew older we would work together, picking up those terrible small bales or changing hand-line sprinklers. Best of all, he taught me how to ride a horse. Andy believed you had to learn to ride without a saddle first. Well, my first time I ended up on the ground! I even remember one summer day stopping at Elko and sitting on the front steps of the old Hotel while Andy went in for a refreshment.”
Times were tough in the 40’s and 50’s and money was in short supply, so Andy and his brother Doug operated a couple of other businesses. There was the Guiding Territory they operated up Phillips Creek, taking out mostly American hunters. Then there was the Christmas tree business. Andy always said, “Every ranch had a permit. After the cows came home in the fall, we would cut trees every weekend – those trees paid the mortgage on many a ranch.”
Andy was married to Isabel Durham in 1957. Together they had two sons, Aaron and Cam, and twin daughters, Heather and Sandra. Andy was a very good and proud father and husband. He was genuinely interested in people, especially children. He became one of the leaders of the 4-H Beef club, which he and Isabel operated for over 20 years.
Roping was a necessity on the Ranch and horses were the only way to move cattle. When the Ranch purchased a horse trailer Andy was able to attend rodeos with his first event being calf roping, then later Team roping. Andy and Isabel were two of the founding members of the Tobacco Valley Roping Association and volunteered for many years.
One of Andy’s proudest accomplishments was their herd of purebred Hereford cattle. The McDonald Brand ‘USU’ has been registered in British Columbia for more than 100 years. Barry recalls, “He and Isabel worked as a team keeping extensive records on the cows to eventually produce a well-respected herd. Isabel would ask about certain cows referring to them by their ear-tag number. Andy would pull out his pocket-book, look at his notes and then give her an answer. What a great team they made!”
Sadly, Isabel passed away in 1993. His four children, eight grandchildren and nine Great grandchildren children helped fill the gap. Then, in 2002, he was introduced to Rosemary Pfaff, of Eureka, Montana. They developed a strong and loving relationship that occupied most of his free time to the end of his days. They enjoyed a good life attending family gatherings, Cattlemen’s events, and travelling together throughout BC, the northwest states, and down south as far as Los Vegas.
Andy was involved, and fully committed, to 4-H, Team roping, the Waldo Stockbreeder’s Association, the Regional District of the East Kootenay, the BC Cattlemen’s Association, of which he was a Past-President, and of course the Society for Range Management (SRM). Andy was a member of SRM for well over 40 years. He attended numerous International Meetings, and as many Summer and Fall tours of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Section, and the BC Chapter as possible.
I consider myself very lucky to have known Andy for one-half of my life – the good half! Over the last decade especially, as I grazed steers and bought hay at the Ranch. It gave me a good reason to get down to Grasmere at least once a week.
That was a bonus on top of the many road trips I made with Andy, Mike Malberg, Maurice Hansen and others, mostly to SRM tours. The thing about Andy was his incredible enthusiasm. He was a life-long learner and always had a positive attitude. It was contagious. They certainly broke the mold when they made that guy. I thought I’d share some “Andy-isms” that I picked up over the years on various topics.
On funerals…
A guy asked Andy if he was going to so-and-so’s funeral. Andy said, “No!”
The guy plaintively asked him, “Andy, why not?”
Andy gruffly replied, “Well, he’s not coming to mine!”
On friendship…
I was talking to Andy at some kind of meeting and a guy comes up and says, with a little derision in his voice, “Well, there’s the Grasmere Millionaire.” Andy looked at him sharply and said, “A million friends maybe.”
On time-management…
Andy and I were discussing not being on time for meetings etc. We agreed it wasn’t really about time management, it was a habit of trying to get one more thing done. He said, “I don’t do that anymore.” I asked Andy what motivated him to change. He said, “I didn’t want people to start calling me “The late Andy McDonald!”
On cows…
A story or fact or observation would always begin with, “Well, that ol’ cow…” There was a cow that kept getting out on the highway, over and over again. So, that meant dropping what he was doing, and putting the cow back into whatever pasture through the nearest gate. One day a neighbour came charging up the laneway, breathless, to report that the cow in question had been hit and killed on the highway.
Andy’s reply? “Well, she won’t do that again!”
On misbehaviour…
At a Kootenay Livestock Association dinner a few years ago, a woman was good- naturedly razzing him about rumours of his misbehaviour at a BC Cattlemen’s meeting in Kamloops. To which Andy replied, “Well, I didn’t go there to behave myself!”
On trouble…
On his next to last day Mike and I were taking him out to Grasmere for a range tour and lunch out on the grasslands. He had been staying at a retirement home, the Rocky Mountain Lodge. An attendant at the Lodge teased him saying, “Now Andy, you stay out of trouble!” Andy replied, “If I wanted to stay out of trouble, I’d stay here.”
On mischief…
Andy was not above a bit of mischief. In 2003 he travelled to the SRM International Meeting in Caspar, Wyoming with Mike and Maurice. I would normally be with them, but I had flown down early for meetings. Sometime during the trip Andy had fastened a sign to the back of Mike’s government Suburban. The sign read, “How’s My Driving?” Mike’s phone number was included. Anyone who has travelled with Mike knows he is famous for two tendencies….the first is speeding, the second is running out of gas. While in Caspar I saw Mike whizzing down the street at about 100 mph. It turns out he was late for a scheduled oil change. It was there the attendant pointed out the sign.
On life…
Mike and I were fortunate enough to spend Andy’s next to last day with him out on the Range, where his heart truly was. The last thing Andy said to Mike and I was, “I love you guys.” The last thing we said to him was, “We love you too Andy.”
I’d like to close with his greatest advise…
“Have a good day…if you don’t, it’s your own damn fault.”