Obituary - Amos 'Lil Shorty' First Raised Jr.

Amos "Lil Shorty" First Raised Jr. was born to Amos "Nace" First Raised Sr. and Melvina "Tiny" Horn on June 13, 1949 at the old Fort Belknap Hospital.

He attended grade school at Harlem Elementary and Pierre Indian Boarding School in Pierre, South Dakota. He attended Flandreau Indian Boarding School in Flandreau, South Dakota, to complete his requirements for high school.

Amos was one of the Flandreau Indian Basketball team's high-scoring players. FIS went to the state basketball tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They came away with second place.

Amos joined the Army and was stationed in California, where he met Betty Lou Hawley. To this union they had two precious little boys; Amos III and Gerald Daniel. He moved back to Burns, Oregon, after his stint in the Army, where he worked various jobs with his brothers-in-law.

Amos moved back to Fort Belknap following his separation. He worked various jobs at Fort Belknap, working for the Tribe Land Department was his favorite place of employment. He enjoyed working with people, and especially loved being outdoors.

Amos loved to go fishing with his children at Strike, Snake Butte, and the Dodson Dam. Cruising the Rez was one of his favorite past-times. He enjoyed driving the backroads to and from Harlem to Havre. He enjoyed ice fishing during the winter months. Amos's love for playing basketball spilled over into watching games in Chinook, Hays-Lodge Pole, Dodson and Harlem. One could always see him sitting on the bottom row of the first set of bleachers at Harlem Gymnasium. He razzed everyone who walked by.

He enjoyed going to the casinos up and down the Hi-Line to socialize and to "donate." Branding, moving cows, cutting hay, and baling was enjoyable even though he complained about the starting late and the disorganization of his "Bosses." He loved going to the horse races and rodeos.

You could find Amos flipping through channels between basketball games, football and rodeo when he decided to take a break from "checking out the valley." The referees caught heck even on the screen.

Amos is survived by his sons Billy (Courtney) Bell of Paradise Valley, Shawn Bigler of Billings, Roy Fox of Hays, and Daniel First Raised and Josh Beaumont of Fort Belknap; his daughters Avis Ball of Fort Belknap, Diana (Tony) Blue Gamble of Hawaii, Karessa Fox of Hays, and Jamie Beaumont of Havre; his adopted sisters, Hope and Suzanne Doney, and grandchildren Mariah, Derek, Ryan, Diondre, Desiree, Daisha, Danleigh, Amos IV, Dante, Khain, Shyla, Vance, Jacob, Kasey, Kayden, Cameron, Dontae, Mataya, Drayton, and McKennen were the apple of Grandpa Amos's eye. His nieces and nephews loved their "Uncle Amos." Amos's great-grandchildren are an addition to his legacy.

Amos is preceded in death by his children Amos III, Gerald and Melvina; his parents, Amos and Tiny, paternal grandparents, Hank and Alice, and maternal grandparents, Jesse and Melvina.