The Obit Project

When Bea Burnham walked up to her house one day, she saw her husband of 30-plus years lying dead in the lawn. That stopped her world from spinning for a while, but she pulled herself up, fixed what needed to be fixed and got on with life, eventually outliving three more husbands. She worked hard and taught her daughters about women’s rights. She took care of her friends in their grief. She was buried in her fur coat and shaved her legs one swipe at a time, so that it was always in progress. After her dearth, her daughters come to a new understanding about a mom who carved her own way.

Reported and narrated by Elinor Smith, UM Journalism alum former host and reporter at Montana Public Radio.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clifford Marion was a jokester and a lover of card games and gambling. He was a force where he worked for a decade at the Town Pump. And then he got sick. At the end, surrounded by his family, it was his wife who had to make the decision about when to let go, a moment at the heart of this story.

Reported and narrated by Sophia Marsolek, current student at UM Journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wayne Boyes was the de facto mayor of the unincorporated town of Tarkio off Interstate 90, though he’d never want that title. He was too busy with his cows. Wayne was born in Tarkio, he married his neighbor, and he died on his land with a list of chores. His family picked up that list in his honor and because some chores just need to get done. It’s what Wayne would have wanted.

Reported and narrated by Kathleen Shannon, alum of UM Journalism’s graduate program

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lot of people in Billings, Montana, knew Stanley Littleboy by sight. He was that homeless guy with the great face you’d see downtown or in South Park. But he had people who loved him. His kids and grandkids in Billings tried to give him options, including a roof over his head. Stanley said no. He preferred his lifestyle, even though it ended when his body was found frozen near the railroad tracks. His family reconciles what they knew and what they tried to understand about Stanley now that he’s no longer running from them.

Reported and narrated by Paul Hamby, UM Journalism alum currently at the Billings Gazette

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darrel Johnson was someone people thought they knew. Maybe they worked alongside him at a high school dance. Maybe they knew him from Boy Scouts or through the camp he ran for troubled boys. His son knew his dad was also involved in some grisly investigations because Darrel would develop crime-scene photos in the family bathroom. Darrel’s job and personality were darker than most knew and time has allowed for honest, nuanced reflection.

Reported and narrated by Bayliss Flynn, current student at UM Journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When she was in high school, Lotus Porte-Moyel interviewed her neighbor, Ellen Baumler, about being a successful woman. Ellen’s success was measured in history books – she wrote 13 of them about the people and places of Montana and was the historian when it came to its capital city of Helena. But really? She was possibly best known for her good work on ghosts and Montana’s many spooky spots.

Reported and narrated by Lotus Porte-Moyel, current student at UM Journalism

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1965, Montanan pilot Dean Pogreba pulled up into the clouds over North Vietnam and was never heard from again. That left his wife and kids to always wonder: Was he still out there? Over the years, a few clues and stories gave his family hope. Maxine Pogreba lived her own full life before and after her husband died, but without someone to bury, she had to find her own path of grief and memory.

Reported and narrated by Charles Bolte, alum of UM Journalism’s graduate program.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendon Galbreath’s death was covered by most major news stations in Montana. He died after being pulled over. At first, it wasn’t clear if a cop shot and killed a 21-year-old citizen of the Blackfeet Nation in Missoula or if he died by suicide in that moment. But this isn’t a story about that. It’s about the beautiful moments we share with our friends, the kind that never show up in news stories.

Reported and narrated by JoVonne Wagner, alum of UM Journalism currently at Montana Free Press

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone from Dillon knows about the elephant struck by lightning and buried on the spot in what’s now the fairgrounds. But few are as obsessed with telling and remembering the story of Old Pit as Jack Kirkley, who taught for many years at the college there. He thought it would be a good idea to dig up the bones and display Dillon’s elephant in a history museum, but he found out others might dig him up one day if he tried that. Pit came by circus train to Dillon and never left. This is her story.

Reported and narrated by Jacob Baynham, alum of UM Journalism and current Adjunct Professor there

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The headline on Ruth Anderson’s obit in the New York Times defines her as a pioneering electronic composer. In certain circles, she was a famous artist and professor. Her partner, Annea Lockwood, was famous in her own rite in those circles, too. But to each other, they were partners with inside jokes and shared memories, many of them based at Flathead Lake near where Ruth Anderson was born. In this unconventional obit, a different Ruth from Montana finds Ruth Anderson on late-night radio and then unpacks how we think about a loved one’s legacy.

Reported and narrated by Ruth Eddy, alum of UM Journalism currently at Yellowstone Public Radio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his obit picture, Terry Holo looked like The Dude from The Big Lebowskiand, for a time, he kind of was that guy. But when reporter Izaak Opatz  joined Terry’s brother, Bob, to clean up the house of his dead brother, he learned there was a lot more to Terry than he expected. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stories about the lives of real Montanans after they die. Young journalists reinvent the obituary, creating a form that explores universal truths, legacies and reckoning with the memories of those we love. Coming April 2, 2026. 

Co-hosted by old friends and colleagues Jad Abumrad (founder of Radiolaband creator of Dolly Parton’s Americaand 2025’s Fela Kuti: Fear No Man) and University of Montana professor and journalist Jule Banville (An Absurd Result).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.