Richard 'Dick' Allen Erb

Richard A. "Dick" Erb, 87, former Wyoming State Senator, passed from this life due to natural causes in his home town of Gillette, Wyoming on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. He was born December 26, 1928 in Chariton, Iowa. As a result of the Great Depression, he moved with his family to California in 1941, where he attended junior high and high school, graduating in 1947.He returned to Iowa following graduation, where he enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 and was honorably discharged in 1954 with the rank of Staff Sargent. During his enlistment, he was stationed in Texas, Montana, and Idaho. Following discharge he returned to California to be near his parents and some of his siblings. In 1954, he met Lois "Ann" Dowdy, and they were married on August 14, 1955, in Lennox, California. They soon moved to Lancaster, California, where he worked in Civil Service at Edwards Air Force Base from 1956 through 1967. During those years, he and Ann became the parents of a son and daughter. At Edwards AFB he worked in rocket research, during the time that NASA was developing and testing the rocket engines which literally took our astronauts to the moon and back. In 1967 the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he worked for one of his brothers, who had an office machine and services company. In 1971, the family moved to Dayton, Wyoming, where some of Ann's family lived, and where the family had previously vacationed nearly every year. Dick went to work for the AMAX Coal Company in 1974 as a landman covering Montana and Wyoming, and in 1976 he and Ann relocated to Gillette where they have lived ever since. He later became the manager of real estate and ranch operations for the company's non-mining division, Meadowlark Farms. While working full-time for AMAX, he was also able to attend college classes. In 1987 he achieved one of his long-time goals, when he walked across the platform in St. Petersburg, Florida to receive his college diploma, graduating with a BA in Business Administration from Eckerd College. He retired from AMAX in 1991 and became involved in politics, which was his lifelong passion. In 1993 he was proudly sworn in as a State Representative in the Wyoming Legislature for House District 53. In 1996 he became the State Senator for Senate District 24, and served in the Wyoming Senate from 1997 through 2004. Among other activities, he was a long-time member of the American Legion, served on the Airport Board, was a volunteer for the National High School Rodeo in Gillette, and enjoyed many other community activities. Dick was preceded in death by his parents and all five siblings. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Ann, two children, Rick (and wife Stephany) and Deb, three grandchildren, Reann, Guy, and Randee, and two great-grandchildren, Caidance and Shylo. The family requests that memorials be made in Dick's name to Close to Home Hospice or to a charity of your choice. Memorials and condolences may also be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel 210 W. Fifth St., Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences may be expressed at www.gillettememorialchapel.com. A memorial service is being planned for some time in the spring, and an announcement of that will be published at a later date in the Gillette News-Record.Funeral Home:Gillette Memorial Chapel210 West Fifth Street Gillette, WYUS 82716