A fight for property, liberty and burial rights

PLAINS, Mont. - Renn Bodecker, a local veteran, refuses to give up fighting to keep his home and the land where his wife's body is buried.

Bodecker says he is not only fighting for his rights and his home, but for his own burial site alongside the spot where his wife is buried.

"It's about the fact that I built the home, I bought the land, I paid for the home and I'm supposed to be buried out there (next to my wife). That was our agreement," Bodecker said.

His wife, Lorna, died July 3, 2012, after a long battle with cancer. Before her death, she helped Bodecker build their home despite the pain she suffered. Together they picked out the spot where they would be buried - a place she remains buried in a pine box handmade by her husband.

With medical bills stacking up, Bodecker filed for bankruptcy, something he since has regretted. Bodecker failed to list all of his assets and because of that, the fight for his property goes on.

He failed to list some farming equipment, as well as gold and silver which was buried throughout his property. To Bodecker, the gold and silver was for his retirement, and he stated that he never even thought of it as an asset.

"I didn't consider them assets for more reasons than one. It was so buried into my brain over the years that that was untouchable," Bodecker said.

He had also signed a waiver of homestead, although he claims that it was during a time when he was under duress, with incompetent counsel.

"Because of the loss of my wife I was having a mental problem. I wasn't thinking properly," Bodecker said. "I've been around people who had lost their wives before, and their husbands. But you'd have to know the two of us to understand how close we were. I'm still suffering from it."

Just seven months after his wife's death, Bodecker signed the waiver - releasing his homestead into the court's hands. However, according to the United States Supreme Court, a homestead cannot be collaterally attacked, something Bodecker believes has happened.

"There's still a land patent on this property that I recorded as a deed. And technically, according to the United States Supreme Court a land patent is untouchable," explained Bodecker. "A land patent is signed by the President of the United States that says this is to all assignees and heirs forever. This land patent says forever. It's there, it's permanent and they ignore it."

On Nov. 7, Bodecker has a court hearing for contempt of court. In an earlier edition of the Clark Fork Valley Press, he stated that the only way he would leave his property is "feet up."

Although the charge is against him, Bodecker said he believes he is performing his civil duty, a duty he thinks all Americans have - the duty to stand up for their rights.

"My civil rights, every right a human has, has been violated to the extreme," Bodecker said. At 90, he says his mind is not as sharp as it used to be, and it has become an impossibility to remember everything - something he said the court expects him to do.

"Christ was crucified and hung on the cross. They are crucifying me in the damn courts with no justice. I gave three years of my life for this country and everybody in it. What are they doing for me?" Bodecker said.

During World War II, Bodecker helped save the lives of 2,100 people in an internment camp. He said feels he has paid his dues to the country, and yet his country is unwilling to fight for him.

The fact this his property and land may be taken from him is a worry of Bodecker's, but his biggest worry is ensuring that he is buried next to his wife. If the property is taken from Bodecker, no one knows what would happen to his wife's remains, and no one knows if Bodecker would be able to be buried next to her.

Family friend Roxsanna Ryan has helped Bodecker throughout his struggle but she is slowly running out of steam.

"I'm just at a standstill. If Renn should go before this case is settled, what am I going to do? Where am I going to bury him?" Ryan said.

Bodecker explained that if he had to exhume his wife from the property, he feels it would be unsuccessful. Lorna is buried in a homemade wood casket, something that has been tested by the elements.

"If they tried to dig up the wood casket after two-and-a-half years in the ground, I don't know what kind of shape it would be in," Bodecker said. "I don't want her body destroyed and tore up. It doesn't matter where you're buried, but we wanted to be buried together."

Christy Brandon, the trustee in this case, did not return phone calls or emails.

Ryan said she has talked to handfuls of senators, congressmen, the governor and different agencies to try to find some help. However, her efforts have been unsuccessful.

"I'm out of ideas. If anyone has any idea, I'm open to help financially and knowledgeably," Ryan said. "When we fail to stand up for one day, they'll be at your door, and this can happen to anybody. This is not the country I loved. It's time we stood up."