Philip Burton Donally

Philip “Phil” Donally, was born to Cordelia and Frank Donally on March 27, 1932 in Missoula, Montana. His twin sister, Phyllis, had arrived just 15 minutes before; a fact of which she loved to remind him.

The twins had an older brother, William “Bill”, who proceeded them in death, and the family lived on the ranch at Quartz, east of Superior. The children attended kindergarten through sixth grade at the Quartz Country School while their mother taught school up the road in Rivulet.

Throughout his childhood, Phil was active in 4-H showing hogs. Cordelia then taught at Victor, so the kids followed her there in the seventh grade and remained until they graduated from the eighth grade. In ninth grade, Cordelia taught school in Kalispell while the kids attended Flathead High School.

During the twins’ 10th grade year, they stayed with Cordelia’s cousin and attended Missoula County High School. Phil and Phyllis finished out the last two years of high school in Darby and remained close to their classmates.

After high school, Philip studied agronomy at Montana State University and was a brother in the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He was also enrolled in the ROTC program there, and following graduation, served two years in the Air Force.

For much of his term, he was stationed at Moses Lake, Washington.

After his time in the military, Phil took a job with Cominco (Elephant Brand) Fertilizer in Spokane, where he met Nancy Jean Selleck in 1960. The two were married on Nov. 18, 1961 and moved back to Missoula in 1963.

Their first-born son, Kevin, was delivered on October 30, 1965. When Kevin was 10 months old, the family moved back to the Donally Ranch at Quartz. Phil retired from selling fertilizer and took over the ranch from his father.

With the help of his family, Phil raised between 80-100 head of Black Baldy cattle before transitioning to Simmental cross and then Red Angus cross cattle. Phil and Nancy’s second son, Michael, was delivered on Sept. 17, 1968.

Phil enjoyed square-dancing and taking tour bus trips with Nancy; riding and packing the trails along the Montana/Idaho border; snowmobiling; attending Cabin Fever dinners; celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, etc. at the Nine Mile House and the River Edge; and playing cribbage.

Phil served on the Mineral County Weed Board, the tax appeal board, the cemetery board, and the Montana State University advisory committee of farming experiment stations. He was an active member of the Mineral County Republican Party, the National Rifle Association and was “a pillar of support” for the Mineral County 4-H Clubs and the Mineral County Shooting Sports Association.

He valued education and made donations to Montana State. He was pleased that three of his grandchildren have already attended MSU.

Phil passed away on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.

He is survived by his twin sister Phyllis, wife Nancy, sons Kevin and Michael (Nicole), grandchildren Mary Grace, Logan, Clayton, Luke, and Gretchen; nephew Shawn (Anndenia) and nieces Robyn and Shannon (Steve), numerous great-nieces and - nephews, and many life-long friends.

Philip is remembered as a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend.

The celebration of life for Philip Burton Donally will be held at the Mineral County Shooting Sports Association building in Superior at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Mineral County Shooting Sports Association would be appreciated.