Honoring Gervase Hittle

In the spring of 1971, Gervase Hittle, an English & French Literature Professor at the University of South Dakota met and became good friends with one of his graduate students, Dan O’Brien. 51 years later, their friendship remains. After his professorial retirement in 2002, Gervase, a fellow falconer, horseman and a lover of all things outdoors moved to the ranch to help out Dan and also became Wild Idea Buffalo Company’s first sharpshooter. Eight years later he retired for the second time, and moved on to other adventures, before coming back to his ranch home in 2019.

Gervase is an integral part of the ranch and of Wild Idea. He’s our "go-to guy”. He lends his time, hard work and experience at the ranch, assisting with fencing, the ongoing work of prairie restoration, caring for the dogs and falcons, and at 86 continues to help out on the harvest crew (which is a young man/woman's job) when needed. He’s also Jill’s “Knight in Shining Armor” when it comes to snake handling (catch and release of course).

Gervase is a man of many talents and life experiences. He’s a former Marine, who served a four-year hitch as an infantryman at the end of the Korean War. He speaks of that time with pride, living by ‘once a marine, always a marine’, who will “never quit marching”. He is also an award winning quilter, a skill he learned from his mother, an excellent Pecan Pie maker and if you ask the ladies (and there’s a lot who could testify) a real good dancer!

Like Dan, Gervase enjoys writing, sticking to short stories and poems, and has been a valuable asset to Dan as a proofreader of his books. Fluent in French, he has also translated many books… c'est magnifique! Dan states, “Gervase can walk the line between blue collar and ivory tower, and he’s been doing it for 70 years.” 

Gervase is currently working on a larger quilt creation using old Levi’s that when completed can be rolled up and buttoned like a sleeping bag. “I would love nothing more than to throw that on the back of my horse and hit the trail, but I’ll probably just keep it safe on my horseless carriage.”

Gervase stays fit by eating a healthy diet, which includes a lot of Wild Idea Buffalo meat! And is a true example of “if you use it - you don’t lose it”! Happy 86^th Birthday Gervase, and thank you for your love, friendship and service - all of it!