Daniel Lipscomb
courtesy photo
Daniel Lipscomb
RONAN — On June 24, 2021, Daniel Joseph Lipscomb passed peacefully at St. Luke’s hospital in Ronan.
Dan was born on Valentine’s Day 1967 in St. Ignatius. He was welcomed by his parents, David and Carol; his sister, Laura; and his brothers, John and Brian. He joined the family at their home at the foot of the Mission Mountains. The location of the family home would shape Dan’s life, forever ingraining the beauty and wonder of the great outdoors within him. He spent his early years with his family enjoying hours of fishing, hunting, skiing, and swimming. During his school years at Mission, he was involved in wrestling, football and basketball. He was surprised to learn a few years ago that a number of his records in football still stand to this day. Dan made so many lifelong friends while going to school in Mission. One of those lifelong friends was his wife to be, Alicia Coulter. They were high school sweethearts and best friends.
Dan had many jobs from an early age. He started with changing pipe and putting up hay for many area farmers and working weekends at Stuarts. Starting in 1984, Dan worked each summer for the next six years in a Jr. Fellowship program with the U.S. Forest Service. He spent time at Murphy Lake, Eureka, and the regional office in Kalispell. He spent many days of these summers working for the forest service fighting fire all over the Northwest. This included becoming one of the few people to ever cut trees down in Yellowstone during the fires of 1988.
After graduating high school in 1985, Dan enrolled in the MSU Wildlife program. When not in class he could be found either playing pickup basketball or outside exploring the Bozeman area. He spent his time honing his skills as a hunter, fisherman, and avid outdoorsman during this time at MSU. Dan “switched sides” in 1989 attending the University of Montana, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife biology in 1992.
In 1986 he married the love of his life, Alicia Coulter (now Lipscomb), whom he stayed with as best friend and husband faithfully until the time of his passing. They welcomed two children to the world, Chelsea in 1992 and Tate in 1997. Dan took a job as a wildlife biologist with the tribe. He mapped the wildlife corridor for U.S. Highway 93. He was key in the rehabilitation of trumpeter swans to the reservation. He relocated grizzly bear, elk, deer, antelope and big horn sheep, surveyed animal populations all over the reservation, set up wildlife watering stations on the west side of the Flathead river, and spent countless hours in the air counting birds and mammals. Dan met with many ranchers to deal with depredation calls. He was a mentor to many sharing his vast knowledge. He was an important member of the dive rescue team. In 2002 Dan changed jobs and became the Administrator for Shoreline Protection for the tribes. He took his responsibility for the tribal ordinances very seriously. He worked with an amazing crew. Throughout Dan’s life, the various work he did will forever positively impact the ecosystem of the Mission Valley as a whole.
Dan is preceded in death by father, David; his brother, John; his son, Dillon; and his nephew, Jeremy.
He is survived by wife, Alicia; his daughter, Chelsea (McKinley); his son, Tate (Hannah); his mother, Carol; his brother, Brian (Allyson); and his sister, Laura (Steve) Bermel. Dan is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
Dan remembered everything he had ever done and that is not an understatement. He loved reliving all of his adventures. You could ask him how to do just about anything and he would be able to tell you just what you needed to know. A celebration of his life was held at his home on Tuesday, June 29, at 2 p.m.
