Robley Carr, 89

Robley “Bob” Carr, educator, veteran and outdoorsman, died peacefully of natural causes on June 14, 2026, at age 89. Talented, curious, and creative, Bob was a master of many skills. 

He was born in Britton, South Dakota, Aug. 9, 1936, and raised on a farm near the town of Groton, where he was active in band, football, student government and the Glee Club. 

Bob attended Dakota Wesleyan College in Mitchell, majoring in psychology and history, putting himself through school by working a variety of jobs that included working at the City Water Department, as an ambulance driver and for the funeral home that operated out of the same business, as well as an aide in a psychiatric ward. 

At Wesleyan, he met Carol Starr, whom he married, and they remained married until her death in 2023.

Bob served in the Army National Guard as a medic and was activated during the Berlin Crisis. He and Carol moved to the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where he was in charge of the staff at the boarding school, as well as the boys’ dormitory, and Carol taught music.  

He later received a master’s degree in education in counseling and guidance. This career led him to Kalispell in 1969. He worked as a guidance counselor at Kalispell Junior High School for 24 years, where he was a strong student advocate, taking many additional courses and receiving certificates that included suicide prevention. He retired in 1993, but continued to be active in advocating for young people by volunteering with Carol on the Foster Care Review Board. 

Bob was a strong conservationist who loved the outdoors and felt strongly about preserving it. During summer breaks from school, he led crews of teenage workers in the YCC program on expeditions clearing trails and hauling litter from the Mission and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas. (Once removing the wreckage of a crashed airplane.)  

An avid outdoorsman, he particularly enjoyed sailing, bird hunting and competitive pistol shooting. He was a range officer at the Bigfork Gun Club and a longtime member of Flathead Wildlife, Inc. He spent volunteer time on projects such as posting nesting boxes for waterfowl on local wildlife refuges. He raised bird dogs and enjoyed feeding neighborhood birds and squirrels. 

Bob enjoyed reading and was a strong supporter of American troops and veterans. He was a craftsman and builder, expert “jerry-rigger” and a talented artist who enjoyed carving, painting and drawing. He was supportive of the local music scene where he volunteered at the annual Jazz Festival and attended many local performances, both musical and theatrical. 

He was a good storyteller and loved telling stories. He kept a sharp, protective eye on the neighborhood and truly loved his neighbors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made a plywood bear, which he moved from window to window in his house, behind trees and around his yard to entertain neighborhood children. Bob was a good friend, neighbor and dad who took great pride in serving his community. He is greatly missed. 

He is survived by his daughter, Lori Fisher and her husband, Jody Middleton of Kalispell and son, Thomas and his wife, Dianna of Washington and their daughters, Emilie Pham and her husband, Brian of California and Katherine Carr of Arizona. 

A celebration of life will be at the Kalispell Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1185 West Reserve Dr., at 1 p.m. Aug. 9.