Elk mount serves as a reminder of Matt Edwards

Two years after Matthew Edwards’ death, a shoulder mount of the first elk he shot is now with his family.

Edwards, a 2013 Bigfork High School graduate, died Oct. 28, 2013 in a one-vehicle accident on Montana 83.

He was driving home from a hunting trip near Dillon, and was proudly returning with his first bull elk in the back of his pickup truck.

The crash was reported at 8:25 a.m., and Edwards, who was 19, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to a Bigfork Eagle article, Edwards went off the right side of the road, overcorrected and then rolled the vehicle. He was ejected from the vehicle during the crash.

The elk was damaged in the accident, with a broken skull and antlers. The skin, which is called the cape, was ruined. 

After the accident Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recovered the elk, which was then collected by taxidermist Guy Shanks, who planned to prepare the mount for Edwards’ family.

Shanks was connected to Matthew through his wife Robin Shanks, a teacher at Bigfork High School.

Edwards was a well-respected young man, and his death had a profound impact on many people in the Bigfork community.

“The whole school loved Matthew,” Robin said. “He earned your respect. He was good to all people. If you had a role model for your kid, that’s who you would want.”

“On the Bigfork football team, Matt was always the guy who knocked you off your feet but then would stand there and pull you back up,” Edwards’ obituary read. “He had a spirit of life like no other person. He could make anyone smile and laugh and always kept things lively. He took care of all he loved and could be counted on for anything. He never did anything unless he could give it 100 percent. He was good at everything he did and worked hard to do better in areas that were lacking. Matt touched so many lives and hearts.”

“You lose a kid in a school this size, in a town this size, it effects the whole town,” Robin Shanks said.

Edwards’ memory moved other community members to help Guy Shanks complete the mount. Bigfork graduate Josh Sandry helped repair the antlers for his senior project, and superintendent Matt Jensen donated the cape from an elk he shot in the fall, to finish off the mount.

“It’s just kind of a tribute to Matt, and to his mom and dad, and his sisters and his family,” Shanks said.

Ira Edwards, Matthew’s dad, received the mount over the weekend, and took it to his father’s house where it will hang for now. Ira said he hunted with his son often, and Matthew had called him over a radio after he got the bull.

“He was really proud,” Ira said. “It’s a beautiful mount. “It’s a pretty big deal to be able to look at it forever and remember all the good times with him.”