With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of Timothy James Wylder, aged 69, on December 10, 2024. Tim was born in Billings, MT, on March 11, 1955, to Frances Mae Jorgensen Wylder and James Monroe Wylder. After the birth of his sister, Carrie, the Wylder family moved briefly to Cody, Wyoming, before settling permanently in Great Falls, MT. Growing up as a fourth-generation Montanan, Tim loved outdoor activities like backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing, and attending rodeos.
Tim attended Stanford University, where he majored in philosophy and economics, joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and graduated in 1977. Following his undergraduate degree, Tim pursued law at the University of Oregon, where he was an editor of the law review and graduated in 1980. Throughout his education, he was a fiercely dedicated student with a sharp, logical, and analytical mind.
After earning his law degree, Tim began his career as a corporate attorney at Stoel Rives in Portland, OR. In 1982, while skiing at Mount Hood Meadows, he met the love of his life, Martha Kristi Woerndle. They married on July 15, 1984, and soon after, returned to Great Falls so Tim could provide legal expertise during the sale of his parents’ Coca-Cola distribution company. In 1987, Tim and Martha welcomed their daughter, Morgan Kristi Wylder, and in 1990, their son, Marshall Monroe Wylder. In Great Falls, Tim established his own legal practice specializing in trust and estate law and later joined Sigma Investment Group as a wealth advisor in 2009.
Tim was an avid and athletic sportsman with a huge zest for life and adventure. He looked forward to cattle roping every spring, horse packing in the back country every summer, bird and elk hunting every autumn, and skiing and skijoring every winter. He mastered slalom and barefoot waterskiing, went on hunting safari in Zimbabwe, climbed to the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland, learned to ride and rope from horseback, drove mule teams, won skijoring competitions, and fished salmon and crab near the family’s Oregon coast beach house. He loved cowboy culture and country music, especially his favorite musician, Ian Tyson. Tim deeply loved and felt connected to his animals, especially his horses and hunting dogs.
Tim was a philanthropist in the community and believed deeply in the missions of many Great Falls institutions, like the C.M. Russell Museum, McLaughlin Research Institute, Sletten Cancer Institute at Benefis, Touro School of Osteopathic Medicine, and many others. Tim was a dedicated and loving husband, father, and grandfather.
Tim is survived by his wife, Martha Wylder; his son, Marshall Wylder; his daughter, Morgan Wylder and her husband, Rockwell Shah; his grandson, Cyrus Wylder; and his sister, Carrie Wylder Matsko and her husband, Mark Matsko.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
