Michael "Mike" Ley died April 1, 2023 after a decades-long battle with cancer. He is survived by
his wife Ligia Arango of Havre MT, children Phillip Ley of Libby MT, Miguel Ley of Bozeman MT, Brothers
Rick Ley of Fort Wayne IN, Phil Ley of San Antonio TX, Tim Ley of Fort Wayne IN, and Sister, Nancy Brown
(Dave Brown) of Murfreesboro, TN.
Mike was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was one of five children. Mike grew up hunting and
fishing with his brothers and good friends in the forests of the Fort Wayne area, attended St Jude
elementary and later graduated from Bishop Dwenger High School. A few years after high school, Mike
served as a carpenter in the United States Army and was deployed to Vietnam from 1971 to 1972. After
he returned from his military service, Mike went to a garage sale that was set up to benefit the Catholic
mission in Hays, Montana. He went on to move to the Hays mission and worked there for two years. It
was during this experience that he felt a calling to serve his community and attend the seminary to be
ordained as a Catholic Priest. After being ordained, He was a priest in Lewistown, Montana at St Leo's
parish for four years. The last 33 years of his life were spent in the Bear Paw Mountains where he
started a family, worked as an Academic counselor for Stone Child College at Rocky Boy, served as a
volunteer hunter safety instructor, served his community as a rural volunteer firefighter, and was on the
Great Plains Veteran's Services.
Mike was a skilled carpenter, having numerous people in the community ask him to tackle their
big and small construction projects in the summer months. He loved to hunt in the Bear Paw Mountains
with his children and his friends creating wonderful lifetime memories. He enjoyed his time with his
family and used his skills to serve his community.
There will be a wake for Mike Friday April 14 at 7:00pm at the Rocky Boy Catholic Church
followed by mass, also at the church, on Saturday April 15 at 11:00am. Friends are welcome to attend
either or both events.