Obituaries

Jaron Schillinger

Jaron Clair Schillinger, 59, of Circle died Dec. 31, 2020.

He was born Dec. 19, 1961, in Wolf Point to Clair and Edith (Lawrence) Schillinger. After graduating from Circle High School in 1980, he attended Eastern Montana College where, in 1982, he met Sandy. They married in 1983 in Thompson Falls. They moved to Circle and he helped his father, Clair, farm and ranch for three years. Upon his father’s death, Jaron continued farming until 2017. He then decided to lease out the farm acres and focus more on raising cattle alongside his wife and children. He also worked at various jobs until April 2019 and then he started working full-time for the county road crew near Wolf Point.

He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He spent many years hunting with his dear friends until his children became as passionate about hunting as he. His greatest moments were taking his children hunting, getting them on the “big one” and being able to brag about them.

He and Sandy loved to travel and went on several overseas trips to places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. Skiing was also something they enjoyed doing together as well as taking trips to Las Vegas, Nev., to watch his sister Lisa compete at the National Finals Rodeo.

He was a devoted supporter of the Circle Wildcats and a part-time coach of the youth AAU Wrestling Club. He loved following his son, Kyle, during his years as a wrestler and football player. He and Sandy were such proud parents when the Wildcat Football team had their back-toback playoff run, Kyle’s state wrestling third-place finish, and team class C state championship.

One of his most cherished moments was to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.

He passionately and proudly followed his sister, Lisa Lockhart, and nephews, Jess and Jake Lockwood, throughout their rodeo careers and was their #1 fan.

He was loved by all who were lucky enough to know him. He had an infectious smile and a laugh that could fill a room. He always made an effort to greet anyone he knew with a hearty hand shake and loved a good laugh.

He is survived by his wife, Sandy; two children, Kelsy Zuroff and Kyle, both from Circle; sisters, Janet Jensen, Debbie Wolff, Angie Lockwood and Lisa Lockhart; and brother, Gary Messenger.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Steven Messenger.

Visitation will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Circle. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at the Circle High School gym. A private burial will be held at the farm at a later date.