Arthur Dolman

Dr Arthur (Aart) Dolman completed his life’s work on May 16, 2022. Aart was a husband and a father, an educator and a soldier, a caring friend, and a passionate humanitarian.

Aart was born in Weesp, Netherlands, to Evert and Pietje Dolman, on February 28, 1933. He survived the Nazi occupation of 1941 to 1945, and with the sponsorship of an American officer who liberated his grandfather’s farm, immigrated to the United States in 1950. He joined the US army and fought in Korea where he was twice wounded in combat. Following a stint as a drill sergeant at Ft Knox, he transferred into the US Air Force as a security police officer and was assigned to the radar base north of Havre. He met and fell in love with his first wife, Sue Rawlings of Libby, then a student at Northern Montana College. He also fell in love with Montana. He and his young family were then sent to Washington DC, where he served as a member of the Air Force One honor guard, protecting both the president and the vice president on numerous national and overseas trips.

Aart used his GI Bill to get bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Montana in Missoula, then served in the Army Reserve while he earned his doctorate from New York University. He taught at Wittenberg University in Ohio and St Mary’s University in Texas before working his way back to Havre in 1969. For the next 30 years he taught as full professor at Northern Montana College, retiring with emeritus distinction. His field was modern European history, and his focus was studying the causes of war and peace. He believed that individual action could change the world for the better, and with his German-born colleague and friend Dr Hans Peterson would take hundreds of northern Montana students to Europe and Asia to show them that peace was possible even between the bitterest of former enemies.

His enthusiasm extended to local politics, especially for the conservation of Montana’s precious resources and environment. He was a union supporter and strong advocate for social programs for poor and disadvantaged children, the mentally ill, and native peoples. An avid outdoorsman and riverman, he was president of Missouri River Citizens for many years, active in Citizens for Clean Energy and the Montana Wilderness Association, a lobbyist for education in the state legislature, and had lifelong association with the Nature Conservancy, Humane Society, Sierra Club, and the Democratic Party. He spoke seven languages and travelled the world continuously learning, including martial arts in which he was a decorated black belt, and sharing his deep knowledge with all he met. Over the last few decades, he took great pride and pleasure in a weekly informal breakfast meeting to discuss current events and issues before the legislature. 

Aart is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, Andreé Deligdisch of Great Falls; his brother John Dolman; daughters Patricia Hurin and Debora Sudan; son Everett Dolman; six grandchildren; ten great grandchildren; and many, many dear friends.

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