William “Dick” Crockford II

William “Dick” Crockford II, 65, of Dillon, passed away Feb. 8, 2018, at Barrett Hospital and Healthcare in Dillon.

A respected stalwart of the region’s newspaper industry, Crockford had served as the publisher of the Dillon Tribune since 2007. Active in the Montana Newspaper Association for 35 years, he was elected as its president in 2007 and earned distinction from it as a Master Publisher and Editor in 2009.

Prior to coming to Dillon, Crockford worked for five years as the editor and publisher of the Big Horn County News in Hardin. He lived before that in Anaconda for 13 years, working for seven and a half of those years as editor of the Anaconda Leader. He also served as editor of the Shelby Promoter after acting as farm editor for a pair of Idaho newspapers.

He remained active in the Catholic Church throughout his life, volunteering for the Catholic Youth Coalition and teaching confirmation classes to high school juniors and seniors for Anaconda Catholic Community for a dozen years.

Crockford was born in Los Angeles on May 2, 1952, and grew up in Fort Benton.

He is survived by his wife Debbie, and by his three daughters, Heather Boese of Butte, Theresa Unbehend of Taylorsville, Utah, and Rebecca Combs of Fort Myers, Florida.

Visitation was 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12, with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Brundage Funeral Home in Dillon. A Funeral Mass was 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Dillon. A guestbook is available online at www.brundagefuneralhome.com.