Don 'Buzz' MacCarter, 74

Don “Buzz” MacCarter, 74, originally from Billings and later of Paradise Valley, Livingston, died peacefully at home after a long bout with cancer. Ever since 1978, Don and his wife Jane, daughter Mindy, and son Kent spent many summers together on Wild Horse Island at Flathead Lake.

Don is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jane (Stahl) MacCarter; daughter, Mindy MacCarter (Zac) Mangel; son, Kent (Penny) MacCarter; and grandsons, Jake and Ben Mangel and Auden MacCarter; and twin brother, Douglas (Mary Lynn) of Kalispell, and triplet brothers, Dean (Monika) of Denver, Daryl (Karen) of Whitefish, and David of Bozeman, and their families.

While Don began his career as a popular biology teacher at Lakeville High School near Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, he also spent many summers doing work on raptors (primarily ospreys) at the Flathead Lake Biological Station. After 16 years of teaching, he signed on for a new career with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he ultimately served as division chief of Public Affairs for 21 years. Don’s favorite place always remained Wild Horse Island where the extended MacCarter family have a cabin.

Don and Jane both retired in 2004, moving south of Livingston, where Don kept busy doing population monitoring work on peregrine falcons for the Montana Peregrine Institute and wildlife photography at Yellowstone National Park.

Don instilled in us a love of nature, appreciation for all wildlife, a drive to never give up when the going gets tough; and left us with an immense collection of his amazing photography.

A memorial service will be held for Don on July 28, 2019, at the Flathead Lake Biological Station in the Elrod Lecture Hall.

Donations to the Flathead Lake Biological Station are welcomed in Don’s memory. Send memorials to the University of Montana Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807 or online at www.supportum.org. Please note “In memory of Don MacCarter for the Flathead Lake Biological Station FB115.”

Online condolences may be shared at Franzen-Davis.com.