Wilma Jane Bick, 93

Wilma Jane Gainan Elverud Bick of Ronan passed away Aug. 19, 2025. Wilma was born Sept. 19, 1931, in Ruby, Mont., where she and her older brother, Wayne, spent a summer living in a sheep wagon when she was 3. Their dad, Melvin herded sheep on a large sheep ranch out of Dillon.

She attended first grade in Alder. She and Wayne collected Bull Durham bags of rubies from the gold-mining dredges and along the gravel roads.

Wilma grew up on ranches in Sheridan, Glendale (an old gold mining town), Laurin and Melrose.  While living in Sheridan, their dad built a sluice box to help sort the gold. All the kids used mom’s iron fry pan to pick out the gold. 

Wilma and Wayne walked a mile through sagebrush and gullies, often in the winter, filled with a lot of snow. Sometimes it was so dark they had to carry a lantern in the morning.

They once had a wolf follow them to the bus. Wilma was so cold one morning, the bus driver took off his sheepskin coat and wrapped her in it to get warm. 

They then moved to Laurin. Wilma and her brothers and sisters played out in the field in an old shed with an attic. It was The Robbers Roost, where the outlaws hid from the Vigilantes and posse from Virginia City.  It has since been moved closer to the highway so tourists can see it.

Virginia City was once the capital of Montana, as was Bannock before the capital was moved to Helena.

Wilma graduated eighth grade in Melrose. The class consisted of four students including John Reynolds, whose brother, Benny, became a World Champion bronc rider (Benny was in the first grade). 

Their mom, Brownie, rode broncs in the Dillon rodeo. She asked Wilma to help her when the Reynolds put on a rodeo at Wise River.  After the rodeo, John, one of the Smith boys and Wilma drove the bucking stock back to the Reynolds ranch. They didn’t have a truck to haul them so it was a long, hard, but fast trip home.

Wilma worked the summer of 1945 at the Jones ranch in Melrose, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes for the boss and hired help. Her brother, Wayne, also worked for them. She received $1 per day and at the end of 90 days, she was paid $90. This was used to order school clothes for her brothers and sisters. She also got herself her first pair of cowboy boots.

Her family then moved to Ronan in the fall of 1945. She went to work for Stanley Scearce who owned I.H.C. Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Desoto.

She worked in the parts department where she did the ordering and unpacked the parts and enjoyed waiting on the farmers and ranchers. She worked with John Schacher, who was the parts manager and a good friend to her.

In 1948, a rodeo was in Ronan. A bunch of cowboys came into the store where she worked and talked her into riding a steer in the rodeo. It came out bucking and she hit her knee on the gate. She lasted three jumps, and started to run off the field, almost forgetting to return the cowboy’s spurs he had loaned her.

She graduated from Ronan High school in 1949. She married Bud Elverud in 1950 at the Polson courthouse. They had three sons, Bruce, Scott and Craig, and one daughter, Kelly. 

Wilma and the family ranched many years in Post Creek and Charlo. After I.H.C closed, Wilma worked for Hanson & Granley Co-op for five years before it became Cenex. 

She divorced Bud in 1981 and stayed on the ranch with the help of her son and daughter-in-law for three years. She opened her own craft store called The Clover Patch, she had her store for three years before selling out and moving to Nirada.

In 1997 she met and married Herb Bick, who was always kind and very good to her and her family. He helped the grandkids make and build many projects. 

Some of the happiest years of her life were spent taking her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids hunting and fishing. A very special time was going to Phillipsburg to the candy store, where each kid got to spend $10 for the candy of their choice. They then stopped at the Sapphire Mines to mine sapphires and then headed for the Skalkaho mountains to fish.

Wilma got thyroid cancer and fought it for seven years with the amazing help of the wonderful Dr. Stephen Speckart.

She is preceded in death by her mom, Myrtle Montana Gainan, her dad, Melvin (Fuzzy) Gainan, her brothers, Wayne, Woody, Walt and Louis Gainan, and her sisters, Monte Wichenhagen Gainan and Virginia Williams.

She is survived by her children, Bruce (Terry) Elverud of Charlo, Scott (Annette) Elverud of Chester, Craig (Darlene) Elverud of Chester, and Kelly (Brad) Ackerman of Lenore, Idaho;   brother Joe (Jeannette) Gainan of St. Ignatius; 21 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren, along with many nieces and nephews whom she loved very much.

She says, “of late, whoever believes smile, the best has yet to be, has not of late, taken a good look at me. I’ve gathered a lot of rusty barbed wire from being alive all these years, there are also many times when I’ve re-used and slipped a few gears.

“So now you may know and can be sure, I’m on my way to Rehab, so don’t be sad/home is having a good place to be, and happiness is having family and friends who love you.”  (Written by Wilma)

A graveside service was held at the Mountain View Cemetery in Ronan on Friday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m. Messages of condolences may be shared with the family online at shriderthompson.com.

Arrangements are under the care of Shrider-Thompson Funeral Home.