Feb. 24, 1955—Jan. 7, 2026
Timothy Robert Pattison, known to his friends as Bo Tim, Bo, or Ledge, sadly passed away on Jan. 7, 2026, at the age of 70 years young.
Writing a summary of Tim’s life is like trying to describe Yellowstone Lake with a bucket of water. The life this man lived was extraordinary. Bo Tim was born on Feb. 24, 1955, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and within the first year of his life, moved to Sacramento, California, with his parents and three siblings. Tim spent his childhood playing outside, attending scout meetings, swimming, cuddling with his mom, riding his bike along the river and outrunning everyone on his little league team. His grandfather owned some cabins on a lake in Minnesota and in the summer, Tim’s family would travel cross country to visit him. Their road trips were filled with camping and time spent in National Parks. This is how Tim first learned of Yellowstone. Tim’s father, Bo Daddy, and Tim’s uncle introduced him to hunting and fishing and the man, the myth, the legend was created—the fire was lit!
Tim spent his teenage years infusing himself into the wilds of the American and Sacramento Rivers, practicing bird calls, studying the habits of animals and marveling at the trees. He often spoke of his mother packing a home cooked meal and having family days out at the ocean. Tim was taken on hunting trips in Idaho and Montana and always dreamed of this part of our country. When Tim graduated high school, he got a job in Yellowstone National Park, working and living at Grant Village General Store and Fishing Bridge.
In November of 1974, Tim laid his feet on the majestic west side of Yellowstone in a little town called Big Sky, where “there were no jobs and the hunting was good.” The ski resort had just opened and there was work available, but Tim was content to set up his tent and fish and hunt for his food. Occasionally he would take a job and go indoors during winter months but his soul needed to be in the great wide open with the animals, looking for artifacts of the past. Tim never cared much for money or the things society had to offer. He instead spent thousands of hours of his life hiking in the forests of Yellowstone National Park and Gallatin and Madison County. Living in Big Sky in the seventies, there were elk antlers to be found, and Tim made a living selling them in Ennis and the horn auction in Jackson Hole. He also made elkhorn belt buckles, deer horn pipes and jewelry out of antler and elk ivory of which he sold or gifted to the people he loved.
In his 20s and 30s, Tim hitchhiked all over the western United States making it up to Alaska several times. This is when his nickname Bo came about. When Tim wasn’t in the back country of Yellowstone or traveling, he could be found at Bo Camp, a place on the Gallatin River where Bos had their tents upright, their fish hanging, their elk butchered and a fire burning. Later he would move into a log cabin that was just south of Soldier’s Chapel. The same cabin can now be found at Ophir school. Tim’s brother Mike and a half dozen friends from Sacramento followed him to Big Sky and made it their home as well.
Two of his closest friends were Terry and Lance Thomas who owned Thomas Heating in Big Sky. They hired Tim and that was his part time job up until a couple of years ago. People often thought Tim was a blood relation to Terry and Lance. They were the three musketeers driving around in the Bo V going to work or the shooting range. As more people met them, the clan of Bos grew, a group of brothers that had your back no matter what. Men who lived for the hunt and moments shared with the bears, bison, elk and the magic of nature.
Tim had to move out of his cabin in the mid ‘90s, so he set up his wall tent in Knaubs Hole, a homestead owned by his friends Marjorie and J.C. Knaub. This is where he met Meredith Madden. She was the nanny for the Knaub Family and living in her tent up Porcupine Creek. Meredith and Bo Tim were soul mates and in February of 1997 they had their beloved son, Winter, in Coaches Cabin down in Knaubs Hole. Tim was a wonderful father and taught his son all that he knew. He always had a loving tender heart towards him. Shortly after Winter’s birth, Tim built his first log bed and took his first trip to Nevada with the Bos where he found his biggest set of elk antlers ever. These two events would shape the next 28 years of his life.
Building log furniture came natural to Tim and he loved it. He was a true artist. Tim would hike into the woods with his chainsaw and find the prettiest dead trees with “the most character.” It was common to see him hiking through the woods with a hundred or more pounds on his back. Sometimes it was a tree trunk, other times antlers. In 1999, the Pattison-Madden family moved to a log cabin on the Gallatin River where Tim resided for the last 26 years. He had a shop where he made his rustic log beds, coffee tables, belt buckles, earrings and more. He lived a life of peace with his various black dogs, his son and his cat. The Porcupine game range was on the other side of the river from him. He had a pair of binoculars next to his wood stove, and every day he would “glass” for his elk herd. In the same way a National Geographic team might scout the Serengeti to capture a pride of lions or a bloat of hippos, Bo Tim was recording the natural ecosystem he lived in. If you saw him at the Half Moon, Corral or Riverhouse, he would know what was going on with his animal friends. Tim wasn’t afraid of grizzly bears. He had been chased up trees at least a half a dozen times by bears but never injured. I can only imagine the size of him was a threat to a sow with her cubs, but maybe once she saw him up in that tree she realized he was part of the forest too.
The Bos continued to travel to Nevada every spring to look for antlers and artifacts, as well as North Dakota in the fall to go pheasant hunting. Tim looked forward to these trips all year long. Tim never truly conformed to societal norms. When Winter was one year old Meredith had a land line phone installed. The man from Three Rivers Phone Company said “Hell must be freezing over; Bo Tim is getting a phone.” When Winter was three, Meredith brought a television into the house so Winter could watch cartoons. Tim enjoyed the cartoons as much as his son. He had the best sense of humor and was always telling jokes. Tim never had a computer, a car or a cell phone. He was happy with his radio and his oldies station. He had peace in his heart and was surrounded by a community that loved him and took care of him. Tim was a man of God. If you were someone he knew and you were suffering, I guarantee he prayed for you. He had more integrity than most. He never gossiped or spoke of anyone in a negative light.
Over the last several years, Tim had developed a heart condition and respiratory problems. Recently he had contracted a cold that progressively got worse. On Wednesday morning, Jan. 7, he passed away at his home of natural causes.
Bo Tim left his mark on this land and our hearts. Not only has the community of Big Sky lost one of their main characters, but they have also lost a friend. Tim is preceded in death by his father, Bo Daddy (Robert); mother, Ardis Pattison; sister, Sandy; brother in-law, Ron Asher; soul brother, Bo Terry Thomas; his four black dogs, Dudley the Dude, Chester the Pheasant Hunter, Huckleberry Huck Stom Bull, Zac Attack; and his orange tabby cat, Ichabod Crane. Tim leaves behind his son, Winter Madden-Pattison; brother, Mike (Cheryl); sister, Luann (Adam) Dziuk; niece, Ashley (Joe) Killen; nephew, A.J. Dziuk; nieces, Katie and Jamie Asher; great-nieces, Jolene and Chloe; great-nephew, Tommy; the Bos; Meredith Madden; and his golden retriever, Sky. God Bless Timothy Robert Pattison. May God Bless you, love you and keep you in the palm of his hand.
In honoring Tim’s wishes, cremation has taken place. As many of Tim’s friends are currently out of town, there will be two celebrations. A funeral service will be held Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 11 a.m., at the Big Sky Chapel, with a luncheon to follow at the church. A second memorial will be held this spring to allow time for all of the Bos to reunite from all corners of our land.Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. A link to a live webcast of the service can be found at www.dokkennelson.com.
