Fred Schell

Ferdinand Frank (Fred) Schell lived an extraordinary life of 98 years, 74 of which with the love of his life Lorraine McCadden Schell. From his beginning in a small town in North Dakota, through his service in World War II as part of the Navy XAP 31Team, to his business successes, charity, and family pride, Fred carved an impressive life in Central Montana. 

 After the Navy, Fred started his career with a Business Degree from Carroll College and an auditing job with the State of Montana. He quickly fell in love with Lewistown and started practicing accounting and tax, opening his own firm in 1954, passing the CPA exam to become one of the first CPAs to hold a Montana Certificate. Fred sat on the first-ever State of Montana Board of Public Accountants in the early 70's, helped set many of the CPA practice standards for Montana and established great connections with Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Auditors and other state and national figures. Fred leveraged those relationships to accomplish many great things for his profession and the Central Montana community. He "retired" in 1990 but continued to assist his many clients and friends with their tax estate and succession planning issues. 

 Fred helped establish Sports lnc. in the 60's, working closely with them as they expanded from their original 7 sporting goods stores into one of the largest sporting goods buying groups in North America. Fred was also very proud to have founded the Central Montana Foundation in the early 80s. The Central Montana Foundation has grown into one of the largest community foundations in the State of Montana benefiting thousands of people through millions of dollars of grants since its founding. 

 Fred was also very active in charities and the local community, from sitting on the hospital board and helping to establish funding for the hospital, to sitting on the St. Leo's Round Table, to attending every St. Leo's Trojans and Fergus Eagles sporting events he could fit in. 

 Fred’s biggest pride and joy, however, was his family. From his life partner Lorraine, through his four children Linda, Carl, Greg and Nikki, to his 5 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild, plus others on the way that won't have the great fortune of getting to know Papa Fred. The family, especially the little kids, would flock around Fred and he would light up every time he saw them. 

 Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 10:00 am at Saint Leo’s Catholic Church in Lewistown. Father Samuel Spiering will be officiating. Burial will follow at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Lewistown. The Cloyd Funeral Home is assisting the family.

 ln lieu of flowers, Lorraine and the family request that donations be made to the Fred Schell Memorial Scholarship at the Central Montana Foundation.  Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.cloydfuneralhome.com.