Robert LaForce

Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 11:00am in Billings, Montana at Dahl Funeral Chapel. A luncheon will follow the service.Robert E. La Force, age 82, formerly of Billings, MT died Tuesday February 27, 2007 at his daughter?s home in Gillette, Wyoming of pancreatic cancer. He was lovingly cared for by his daughter, son-in-law and Campbell County Hospice.Robert E. La Force was born on May 17, 1924 to Conley and Lucille La Force in Crow, Texas. They moved 2 years later to Chickasha, Oklahoma, where he attended elementary and high school. In January of 1942, after the call of Pearl Harbor, he left school his senior year to enlist in the Navy and fight in WWII. He served on the USS Russell as a torpedo man and spent his time in the Philippines, Espirto Santos, Australia and other islands in the South Pacific. He was honorably discharged in 1947 when he settled in Long Beach, California. He worked in a variety of bartending and service station management jobs. He married Janet Bloss on April 21, 1951 and they settled in the Long Beach area. In 1956 he began to work with his brother-in-law to create Sterling Tool and Die Company. His goal was to retire at 50 years old. He retired and sold the business at age 52 and became a gentlemen rancher in Prescott, Arizona where they lived for 17 years. In 1993 he and his wife moved to Billings, Montana to be close to their daughter. He was a faithful attendee of the coffee group at McDonalds where they solved the problems of the world. He loved trains and he was an expert HO railroad modeler selling many pieces professionally and receiving several awards for his craftsmanship. He volunteered for several years at St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings, Montana. He moved with his daughter and son-in-law to Gillette, Wyoming in 2005 where he enjoyed watching the trains go by, working on his model trains and watching endless hour of football with beer and popcorn for Sunday dinner. Bob kept his sense of humor to the very end joking with the hospice nursing whenever they visited. We always depended upon him for his wise advice and guidance for our decisions. We will miss his influence on our lives.Bob is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Darci and Rodger Truax of Gillette, a granddaughter, Emilie Truax of Columbia, South Carolina and half-brother David Crouch of Durant, Oklahoma. He is preceded in his death by his wife and both parents.Memorials may be made to Campbell County Hospice, P.O. Box 3011 Gillette, WY 82717. Memorials and condolences may be sent in Bob?s name in care of Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home, 210 W. 5th Street, Gillette, Wyoming 82716 or via the internet at www.stevensonwilson.com.