By Bev Pechan
On Saturday, Aug. 28, a life celebration and memorial will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Keystone Community Center for “Wildcat” Jim Morrow, who passed away several weeks ago in a Colorado hospital.
“Wildcat,” as he was known by his friends, lived and worked in the Keystone area for many years. He was an accomplished country-western singer who often entertained at local functions, but was best known for his involvement with mountain lions and their rescue in different parts of the country.
While living in Washington state, Wildcat thought he would like to own a large house cat, but he located a mountain lion cub in Oregon and purchased it instead for $800. He and his late wife, Judy, became interested in knowing more about mountain lions and studied their habits and lives in the wild, becoming recognized experts who would sometimes testify in the courts over cases of animal abuse and neglect. The couple moved to the Black Hills and began Wildcat Valley Sanctuary of the Black Hills, adjoining Buffalo Billy’s campground and resort near Hayward. It became a popular tourist attraction with 40 mountain lions, bobcats and other wildcats and Jim and Judy enjoyed visiting with the public, telling them about the lives of large cats.
Wildcat Valley was incorporated as a domestic nonprofit organization in 2002. They had a mountain lion named “Sequoia,” which became a house pet and would often sleep with them. When Buffalo Billy’s closed, the Morrows moved their sanctuary and six animals to Keystone after having big cats commercially for nearly 15 years. After the Keystone move, a few tourists found their way to the new location, but Jim and Judy continued primarily with rescue and advocacy interests, including busting another party who was keeping big cats west of Keystone that had been used in circuses and for promotional displays and were living in filth and varying degrees of starvation.
Following Judy’s death from cancer in July of 2009 and suffering from ill health himself, Wildcat sent his remaining cats to Spirit of the Hills Sanctuary in Spearfish.
He is survived by his special friend, Pam Wilcox, and daughter, Eloise of Keystone; and his sister, Tops Morrow, her daughter, Jessie, and son, Jason, all of Montana.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, a life celebration and memorial will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Keystone Community Center for “Wildcat” Jim Morrow, who passed away several weeks ago in a Colorado hospital.
“Wildcat,” as he was known by his friends, lived and worked in the Keystone area for many years. He was an accomplished country-western singer who often entertained at local functions, but was best known for his involvement with mountain lions and their rescue in different parts of the country.
While living in Washington state, Wildcat thought he would like to own a large house cat, but he located a mountain lion cub in Oregon and purchased it instead for $800. He and his late wife, Judy, became interested in knowing more about mountain lions and studied their habits and lives in the wild, becoming recognized experts who would sometimes testify in the courts over cases of animal abuse and neglect. The couple moved to the Black Hills and began Wildcat Valley Sanctuary of the Black Hills, adjoining Buffalo Billy’s campground and resort near Hayward. It became a popular tourist attraction with 40 mountain lions, bobcats and other wildcats and Jim and Judy enjoyed visiting with the public, telling them about the lives of large cats.
Wildcat Valley was incorporated as a domestic nonprofit organization in 2002. They had a mountain lion named “Sequoia,” which became a house pet and would often sleep with them. When Buffalo Billy’s closed, the Morrows moved their sanctuary and six animals to Keystone after having big cats commercially for nearly 15 years. After the Keystone move, a few tourists found their way to the new location, but Jim and Judy continued primarily with rescue and advocacy interests, including busting another party who was keeping big cats west of Keystone that had been used in circuses and for promotional displays and were living in filth and varying degrees of starvation.
Following Judy’s death from cancer in July of 2009 and suffering from ill health himself, Wildcat sent his remaining cats to Spirit of the Hills Sanctuary in Spearfish.
He is survived by his special friend, Pam Wilcox, and daughter, Eloise of Keystone; and his sister, Tops Morrow, her daughter, Jessie, and son, Jason, all of Montana.