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Walter R. Flachsenhar
Grand Master 1944-1945
Walter Roscoe Flachsenhar was born July Montana in 1933 and the Grand Council of
15, 1888, in Mankato, Minnesota. After Royal & Select Masons in 1956. Furthermore,
completing his public school education, he belonged to Terry Chapter No 74, Order
Brother Walter received his Bachelor of Laws of the Eastern Star, and was appointed
Degree (1909) and his LL.M. (1910) from Worthy Grand Patron of Montana in 1925.
the University of Minnesota Law School. In 1932, he was the Potentate of Al Bedoo
He moved to Montana, and in December of Shriners.
1914, he established a law practice in Terry,
Montana. To his home community, he was a constant
contributor to the trust fund of noble
In World War I, he was commissioned as a aspirations for better living, and he was
Second Lieutenant in the Air Service, where known among his fellow men as the
ƪ
Ǥ possessor of an analytical mind for his
the highest ideals of patriotism, he was an abilities for organization and his prompt and
active and loyal American Legion Post 32. orderly manner of action in the performance
ƥ
of his duties. He was a charter member of
the Department of Montana. the Terry Rotary Club, Past President of the
local Chamber of Commerce he was a member of the
From 1926 to 1932, he served as Representative of Prairie Terry Cowboy Band and Al Bedoo Shrine Band, an appeal
County, Montana, becoming the 22nd Speaker of the agent for the Draft Board, and a member of the War
House for the State of Montana in 1931. His record in the Board and the Montana and American Bar Association.
legislature marked him as a brilliant lawmaker and able He enthusiastically served every type of community
guardian of the treasured principles of constitutional activity.
government. He was elected Prairie County Attorney
in 1934 until 1945. He was appointed District Judge on Ever displaying a most worshipful attitude toward the
March 10, 1945, by Governor Sam C. Ford. He retired highest principles of life, he gave service that was grand
from the bench on October 16, 1967. in scope and thus wore the purple of the Master so that to
the annals of the Masonic fraternity could be added the
Within the Masonic Fraternity, he found the intrinsic assets of a good man - Most Worshipful Grand Master
values of noble living and thereby set his course of action Walter R. Flachsenhar.
in life with a singleness of purpose: “This is one thing I will
do.” The extent to which he devoted unlimited time and M. W. Brother Flachsenhar’s death occurred in Laguna
ơ
Hills, California, on July 31, 1972, at 84 years old. A
of outstanding achievements. Brother Flachsenhar special communication was held by the Grand Lodge
was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on on August 4, 1972, followed by the brothers attending
February 13, 1914, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He public services at Smith Funeral Home in Billings. After
ƥ ͟͜ ͙͜ǡ ͙͙͜͡ǡ the chapel services, the mortal remains of our late
serving as Worshipful Master in 1926. In 1944, he was Past Grand Master were borne to the Custer National
elected the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Cemetery, Crow Agency, Big Horn County, Montana,
Montana. and interred with the usual formalities of the Craft.
MWGM Flachsenhar Chartered Jordan Lodge U.D. on
May 23, 1945, and Chartered Jordan Lodge No. 148 on
August 21, 1945. Grand Master Flachsenhar presided
over the 81st Annual Communication held on August 21,
1945, in Helena. The current conditions in August 1945
due to World War II resulted in restrictions and limited
attendance, making this a streamlined, emergent
session. In 1945, Montana had a total of 19,577 Master
Masons and 134 active Chartered Lodges. In 2024, there
are 3,242 Master Masons and 77 Chartered Lodges.
Brother Flachsenhar was active in the York Rite
throughout his life. He was exalted in Winston Chapter
No. 24 R.A.M, Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 25, 1914.
He became a Charter member of Terry Chapter No. 27
R.A.M, serving as High Priest in 1922 and Grand High
Priest R.A.M of Montana in 1932. He presided over the
Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of
