Chester Marion seemed to be a man of routines.
There were places he visited often if not daily: Dan Bailey's
Fly Shop, the Livingston Public Library, and his friend Dean
Hendrickson's insurance office, where he'd pull up a chair in the
waiting room, read the paper, and make casual conversation - often
about local basketball and baseball teams.
The stops hint at Marion's three great passions - fly fishing,
literature, and sports. A renowned fishing guide, voracious reader
and local sports enthusiast, he left his mark on the Livingston
community, becoming a beloved small-town character that will long
be remembered.
Marion, 73, and his close friend, Sheldon Goldberg, died July
28, on the Boulder River while fishing with Goldberg's wife. The
rubber raft they were in struck a cottonwood tree that'd fallen
across the waterway, and with the classic fishermen's attire of
chest waders and no lifejackets, the two men were swept downriver.
The woman survived.
Marion's death has left the Livingston community in shock, and
to those who knew the legendary fishing guide, it was a tragedy
with no sense to it. But his friends have also been repeating a
simple line that seems to serve as an explanation: The river made
him and the river took him.
Even when Marion was a young man working at Dan Bailey's Fly
Shop, he was known as a fly fishing "hotshot," a young guy changing
the sport's rules. Eventually, he'd grow to become an icon of
Livingston fishing.
John Bailey, owner of Dan Bailey's Fly Shop, recently described
Marion's fishing. Marion spent more time on the river than anybody
else he knew, Bailey said, and some years fished nearly everyday
and every season with the exception of winter. He was in tune with
the water and could easily read it to see where fish were swimming,
as if it were second nature.
"I don't know that he thought about it, he just knew," Bailey
said. "Fishing with Chester, you always learned."
Rod Beland, who works part-time at Dan Bailey's, smiled at
remembering Marion's boat, which was labeled "The Curmudgeon." He
said Marion was a man who "wouldn't suffer fools," but was willing
to help anybody.
"He was a small-town character that everybody loves," Beland
said.
Mounted on the fly shop wall are two brown trout Marion caught
on the Yellowstone River, each weighing more than 11 pounds.
But the Livingston man was about more than fishing. He loved to
read, could recite Shakespeare, and for a time was an English
teacher at Park High School. His students said he brought
literature to life and made it enjoyable.
But even after leaving teaching, Marion kept up reading with
almost daily visits to the Livingston Library. Librarian Lisa Sukut
said those at the library came to know him, and recalled one day
when Marian got a new puppy and brought it in to show everyone.
That was another love of his - animals. When Marion died, he had
four dogs and seven cats, which are now up for adoption at the
Stafford Animal Shelter.
Marion was also an avid local sports fan, and would attend
basketball and baseball games for kids of any age. He was an
announcer at local games and volunteered to help however he
could.
On Mondays, he liked to visit Dean Hendrickson at his office and
tell him about the newest, best player he'd gotten to watch over
the weekend.
At his office recently, Hendrickson pointed out a caricature
he'd drawn and framed of Marion. He was holding a fishing rod,
wearing a baseball cap that said "Just Fish" and dangling a cigar
out of his mouth.
A softball and basketball lay at his feet, and his shirt read:
"2 fish or not 2 fish? What a stupid question!"
And Hendrickson had written in what Marion might be saying:
"Man, the fishing is great here, and every kid that plays
basketball can dunk and never misses a shot."
And that seemed to be the Livingston Marion knew - one that
couldn't be better.
A remembrance and celebration of Marion's life is planned for
Friday, Aug. 26, in the evening at Sacajawea Park.
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