Harlan Ray Durgan

Harlan Ray Durgan, age 79, of Livingston passed away on January 20, 2021 of natural causes. Harlan was born on December 29, 1941 to Warden Ray and Lucille (Shadoan) Durgan of Pine Creek. At a young age he put his faith in Jesus and committed to serving him with his life.Harlan grew up on the farm and never quit loving farm-life. His wife Alma often said of him, "You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy." Even while living in town he planted flower and vegetable gardens that many enjoyed over the years. Finding efficient ways to irrigate and fertilize the gardens were hobbies he pursued. Growing up on the farm taught him he could fix anything or at the very least find a way to make it work.He graduated from Pine Creek School and Park High school with the class of 1960. After high school he attended Montana Bible College where he met his wife, Alma Caroline Lien of Wilsall. The two were married in 1965 and spent 56 years loving, supporting, and helping one another. After Bible College, Harlan and Alma moved to Seattle so Harlan could attend graduate school at Seattle Pacific University.After school Harlan was pleased to be called back home to Livingston where he became the pastor of the Livingston Congregational Church, (now Living Hope). He served the Lord and the Livingston community for 42 years. During that time, he was honored to encourage people in and toward faith in a loving God, through worship services, AWANA, Bible Studies, funerals, weddings, visits, nursing home ministries, summer Bible camps, youth groups, and much more. Some of his favorite hobbies were ventriloquism, puppeteering, magic and children's stories. He loved using those hobbies to remind kids that God loves them.While Harlan appreciated the natural beauty, recreational opportunities, and landscape of his Park County home, what he really loved were the people who live here and call this place home.Harlan is survived by his wife, Alma (Lien) Durgan; daughter, Ralien (Amey) Besch, their children, Molli and Kason; son, Shad (Patti) Durgan, their children, David, Andrew, Jon; daughter, Rachel (Luke) Jergenson, their children, Caleb, Logan, Ainsley; son, Dan (Julia) Durgan, and their children, Bobby, Luke, Spencer; brother, Larry (Linda) Durgan; sister, Marilu (Fred) Peake; many other relatives and friends, and his church family. He loved you all.A funeral service in honor of Harlan will be held at 11 A.M. on Saturday, January, 23rd at the Livingston Christian Center, (1400 Mount Baldy Drive). Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery. Visitation and viewing with the family present will be held on Friday, Jan. 22, at Franzen-Davis, 4-6 P.M.