Andy Rahn
Posted Jan 10, 2021
at 11:18pm
In 2013, I showed up on a beautiful ranch in the West Fork of the Stillwater River watershed with clients who were interested in buying the property. Its one of my favorite areas of Montana. On my second visit, the ranch wife pulled me aside, and with a bit of a sparkle in her eye asked me if I was related to Jeannie Rahn. I told her yes, that was my aunt. Turns out Kathryn Martin grew up next door to my father and two aunts in Billings in the 1940’s and 50’s. The families were very close. My grandparents were her and her sibling’s godparents and her parents were my father and two aunts godparents. Kathryn named her daughter Laurie, after my other aunt.
This kind of thing still happens in Montana.
Fast forward 6 months or so, and the Martins asked me to represent them as an agent to sell their ranch. I spent two years trying to get their ranch sold, unsuccessfully. They were very proud of their property, and had a high price on it. I couldn’t blame them. At one point I realized that I didn’t think they really wanted to sell. In their hearts, what they really wanted was to turn the clock back and do it all over again. Kathryn and Keith were tough people, not always easy to work for, much like the beautiful and harsh landscape where they fashioned their complex, and sometimes tragic lives. I feel incredibly blessed to have known them, and their ranch.
God speed Kathryn. Connecting with you, and connecting you and my Aunt Jeannie after over thirty years brought me great satisfaction. Our families were deeply intertwined, and you will always be part of the rich fabric of family and landscape that ties me to this place forever.
