Morris Ehlers obituary

    Morris (Moe) Ehlers could have, in appearance, filled in for Bonanza’s Lorne Greene, ridden horseback aside the Marlboro Man, and been a candidate for a leading man role.  
    In reality, he, at various times in his 86 years, ranched in Montana, rode horseback in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, and appeared as a movie extra in a film whose cast also included John Ritter.
Moe graduated in 1953 from Lincoln High School in Lake City, where he played football, basketball and baseball and took part in class plays, portraying Buffalo Bill in the senior year presentation of “Annie Get Your Gun.”
    He went directly from high school into the U.S. Navy and flew reconnaissance aircraft as a navigator. To puzzle his friends and family, he would repeat the mantra he uttered to himself when putting the plane’s landing gear into position: “Pumps up, handles down, three in a green, and I got a wheel.” Some missions took him over Russia as a spy in the sky.
    After leaving the Navy, Moe became a successful electrical contractor in California, leaving to buy a ranch in Montana, where he broke horses, fished, hunted and golfed.
    It was in California that the script writer for the psycho-thriller “The Other” invited Moe to join the cast. The movie was released in 1972 and Moe was rewarded for his services as an extra with yearly royalty checks of $10.  While Moe believed the sum too insignificant to report on his tax returns, the IRS differed and after a number of years he was billed for taxes due plus interest.
    In 1985, Moe married Mary Oberg Gooding and they pursued a mutual passion for golf.  Moe managed the Lake City golf course for seven years.
    Moe was born July 12, 1935, the son of Jack and Meta (Willers) Ehlers. (His father was a meter reader for the city and also barbered alongside Sam Writer in a shop on East Center Street.) He died Saturday, Feb. 12, under hospice care at Elysian Senior Homes in Lake City.
    Moe was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 36 years, Mary.
    Survivors include a daughter, Cindy Ehlers, Missoula, Mont.; a son, Todd Ehlers, Pasco, Wash.;  step-daughters Chrissy (Robin) McNeill, Lake City, and Amy Gooding, Warrenton, Mo.; grandchildren Macy Jore of Polson, Mont. and Lincoln Jore of Scottsdale, Ariz.; step-grandchildren Grace McNeill, Lake City, Lucas Turnbull, Columbia, Mo., Blake Martinelli, Warrenton, Mo., Dustin McNeill, Prior Lake, Minn.,  Corey McNeill, Henderson, Minn.; and five greatgrandchildren.     
    Funeral services will be conducted by the Rev. David Badgley at the Congregational Church in Lake City on Friday, March 11 at 11 a.m. The family invites Moe’s friends and acquaintances to gather at the Lake City VFW following the service for snacks and refreshments.