James William Phillips

Jim “Gypo Jim – The Legend” Phillips, 78, of Big Arm, Montana, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona, surrounded by his family and on his own terms. The loss has left a profound hole in our hearts and our lives, and we miss him dearly.

Jim was born on September 12, 1946, in Missoula, Montana, to Clifford and Katherine (Wheeler) Phillips. He joined his older sister, Sharon, and later welcomed siblings Linda, Rick, Marcia, and Penny. He was raised west of Missoula, in the lower Grant Creek/North Reserve Street area, before the interstate was punched through and any businesses existed. They operated a 160-acre ranch, raising cattle and horses.

In 1962, his parents built the Five Valley Kart Track and it was operated until the late 1960s. The Phillips kids learned to drive at a very early age, and it sparked the love of competition between the siblings. One time, Jim instigated a downhill bicycle race, after removing the bicycle chains to see who was the fastest. With Rick’s acquisition of a Daisy BB gun at Christmas, Jim became a sharpshooter using his siblings as live, human targets. They quickly developed super-fast sprinting skills. They grew up with the best sledding hill, “The East Pasture” – the big hill above the current Best Western Grant Creek Inn and MacKenzie River Pizza.

In the words of his sister, Linda: “Jim made sure we had an exciting, adventurous childhood which, more often than not, involved risk-taking, danger, and injuries. (He was usually the one to emerge unscathed, however!!) We had country living at its best.”

He began honing his entrepreneurial skills at a very early age. He would fill gunny sacks with cow manure and take them door to door to sell to people in town for their gardens. Starting at the age of 12, he added pigs to the mix to increase his cash flow, raising baby pigs and selling them to local farmers. In high school, he was introduced to an after-school Junior Achievement group, which fueled his desire to learn more about business operations. He was well on his way! When Interstate 90 was built across family property in the Grant Creek area, Jim negotiated the acquisition of the right-of-way timber, and he was suddenly in the lucrative firewood business. He paid for a new Massey Ferguson 35 tractor with the pig raising and firewood proceeds.

Jim attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Grade School. He went to Hellgate High School for 1 year and then Loyola High School, graduating in 1965. After high school, Jim worked for the State Highway Department in Superior, Montana, on the Interstate 90 project. While living in Superior, he met his long-time friend, Tim Wilkinson. He joined the United States Air Force in January of 1966 and was honorably discharged in January 1967.

Jim met the love of his life, soul mate, and best friend Janice Gibson, in 1967. They were married on October 7, 1967, and would have celebrated 58 wonderful, adventurous years. They raised four amazing daughters: Lori, Angi, Cheri, and Wendy.

Jim’s father, Cliff, was an owner/operator truck driver, and that cultivated Jim’s early love for trucks and equipment. This resulted in his lifetime dream of becoming a contractor and business owner. Jim worked for Tom Plaggemeyer Construction, Missoula Cartage at the Pulp Mill, and plowed snow for the State of Montana at Lookout Pass. In 1971, Jim and Jan began their own business, J.W. Phillips Construction, bidding Forest Service road jobs, and leasing two road graders in the beginning. To augment the construction business during the winter months, he used his equipment to plow the large business parking lots in town, including Tremper’s, K-Mart, and Holiday Village – again demonstrating his entrepreneurial prowess.

Fulfilling his dreams of becoming a contractor and business owner resulted in contracts with the U.S. Forest Service, the BLM, Soil Conservation Service, and Army Corp of Engineers. Some of his favorite projects included the blasting and rip-rap project in Huntley, the shoreline protection project in the Bitterroot, the Operation and Maintenance Contract on the Bunker Hill Superfund Site in Kellogg, Idaho, and the “Rails to Trails” project across Northern Idaho. In 1991, Jim and Jan incorporated their business, changing the name to Jim Phillips Contracting. He pursued leasing the Phillips’ family property on North Reserve to Western Materials (now Knife River) for the mining of the gravel, a contract that lasted 20 years.

In 2002, Jim and Jan bought a home in Big Arm, Montana, on Flathead Lake. They made it their permanent Montana home in 2004. He greatly loved sharing their lake home with family and friends. They also enjoyed their winter home in Yuma, Arizona, staying warm in the winter and traveling around Arizona and California. In 2005, they partnered with their daughter, Wendy, and son-in-law, Chuck, and purchased property in Polson, Montana, where they established Glacier Lake Sand & Gravel. Despite his “retirement” in 2018, he could often be found at the gravel pit working on trucks or projects or just delivering loads of material to some of his special customers. Retirement to him just meant he didn’t have a schedule – sort of. In fact, even on the day of his passing, he spoke to a customer in California assuring them that their load of product was on the way.

Jim loved holidays and spending time with family, Christmas being his favorite. He loved watching “The Christmas Story” on repeat (“You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out”). He especially loved hiding Easter eggs for his kids and grandkids. Without fail, the egg count would be mysteriously lower than it originally was – but it kept the kids busy for hours. He was a very kind-hearted man, but also strong willed and he did things his way. He was smart, funny, and witty, and always caught you off guard telling jokes. When he wasn’t working or tinkering on trucks (which wasn’t very often), he enjoyed boat rides around Wildhorse Island, side-by-side rides in the Arizona desert, and taking their Ford Mustang GT convertible up to Glacier National Park. Jan was always by his side on all of these adventures.

Jim is survived by his wife, Jan, of Big Arm, Montana; his daughters and sons-in-law, Lori and Jeff Talbott, Angi Phillips, Cheri and Matt Jacobs, and Wendy and Chuck Forgey; his grandchildren, Tyler, and his wife, Lindsey Trowbridge; Danni and Krista Johnston; Conner Richardson; Nickolas and Ryan Talbott; C.J., Sophia, and Brayden Forgey; Justin and Jaymeson Jacobs; and Peyton Riska; and a great-granddaughter, Jaycee Jean “JJ” Trowbridge. He is also survived by his four sisters and his brother, Sharon Gallagher, Linda and Ken Trickey, Rick Phillips and Ranae Jolley, Marcia Phillips, and Penny and Don Bumpus. In addition, he is survived by scores of nieces, nephews, and cousins. He also leaves behind his beloved dogs, Gus, Honey, and Buster who miss him dearly.

He was greeted in heaven by his mom and dad and other family members who preceded him in death, and his best buddy, Tim Wilkinson.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Ignatius Catholic Mission Church, in St. Ignatius, Montana, followed by a celebration of life at the Big Red Barn near the church. Please bring your favorite story to share about “Gypo Jim – The Legend”, “World Famous Gypo Jim”, “The Legendary Gypo Jim”, “The Gravel Tramp”.

Honorary pallbearers will be his brother, Rick, his close friend, Jerry Bollwitt, and his much-loved “boys”, Chuck Forgey, Matt Jacobs, and Jeff Talbott.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Ignatius Mission Catholic Church, or a charity of your choice.