Emmett "Mick" McCauley

Emmett "Mick" McCauley, 90, of Boulder passed away May 6, 2019 at Bear Grass Suites Assisted Living in Boulder, Montana.

Mick was born in Helena, MT, on December 17, 1928, the third of five children, to Edward A. and Elizabeth (Vollmer) McCauley. Growing up on a cattle ranch in the Boulder Valley working with horses and cattle at an early age would become a lifelong passion. Whether workhorse, or saddle horse, he had a natural understanding of their potential and how to get the best from them. By the mid-1940s he was helping various neighbors with moving cattle, feeding and haying. On one occasion he, his brother Tom, and Harry Larson, were given the task of trailing several hundred yearlings from the Valley through the mountains west of Boulder to Elliston, for Mike Quinn then riding back.

Mick attended local schools, graduating from Jefferson County High School in 1947 as the only boy in a class of 9, his description, "the rose among the thorns." He participated in high school football and basketball. After graduation, he worked on the Ted Knowles ranch at the north end of the Valley using workhorses to hay and feed. As an alumnus, he rarely missed a home basketball game throughout the years until 2018.

On October 18, 1952 he married his high school sweetheart, Margy Curtis of Basin, Montana. They started a lifetime of ranching together with the first two winters spent feeding cattle in the Deer Lodge and Drummond area. In 1954, they moved into the rock house on the Wickham homestead in the Boulder Valley where they made their home and raised their family. In the 50s and 60s he enjoyed participating in O-Mok-See events and rodeos. He liked to dance, enjoyed several types of hunting, and was thoroughly disgruntled when his favorite brand of Walkers Whiskey ceased to flow. With the passing of Mick's father, and his brother Don in the 1960s, the couple assumed the operation of the family ranch in 1968. After the death of Margy in 1994, he continued the ranching operation with his son's family and his daughter. A stroke in 2012 forced him off his beloved horses, riding for the last time in 2014.

In December of 2016, due to his declining health, he moved into assisted living at Bear Grass Suites. Mick served as a trustee on the JHS school board and St. John's Boulder Valley Church Board for many years. He was an original member of both the Jefferson County Recreation Park Planning Board and the Boulder Rodeo Association where he served several stints as president, and many years as arena director during the annual rodeo and was honored to be the parade Grand Marshall in 1997. He donated many hours of his time, and equipment, for the park's improvements and for the rodeo's operation. He also supplied the gentle cattle for the in-county events and Oh! the fair's baked goods auction action!

Mick instilled a strong work ethic in his children (hurry up, zip, and gallop were the words they heard the most), loved sharing his knowledge with his grandchildren and attending their activities. He was proud of each of them. Mick was always mounted on a snappy horse with a good cowdog alongside. He enjoyed helping his neighbors, meeting new friends, and spoke his mind on how things should be.

Mick was preceded in death by his parents, wife Margy, and brothers James, Thomas (Eve), and Donald (June). He is survived by his son, Edward K. (Anita) McCauley; grandson Quentin (Ashley) McCauley, great granddaughters Quinley, Quincey, Quaidin; grandson Justin (Megan) McCauley all of Boulder; granddaughter Kenna (Jeremy) Whelchel of Billings; daughter Marilyn McCauley of Boulder; sister Anne Groeneveld of Sheridan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation/Vigil will be held on Sunday, May 12, 2019 at 7 p.m. and Funeral Services will be held Monday, May 13, 2019 at 1 p.m. both taking place at St. Catherine's Parish in Boulder with Father Elias Kabuk and Deacon Bernard McCarthy officiating. Graveside services will take place after the funeral, at St. John's Cemetery in the Boulder Valley. A reception will immediately follow at the Father Greytek Catholic Center in Boulder.

Memorials may be made to St. Catherine's Church Roof Fund, Box 205, Boulder, 59632; Jefferson County Fairgrounds Improvement Fund, Box 313, Boulder, 59632; or to a charity of the donors' choice.

K & L Mortuaries & Crematory of Boulder is assisting with arrangements.