Bobby ‘S’ Dees

Victor  –  Bobby “S” Dees, age 86, passed away peacefully on April 14th, 2026 at the Hope Hospice Center in Missoula, Montana.

Bob, a long-time resident of Victor, Montana, was a cowboy at heart and lived a life of travel and adventure. He was born October 28th, 1939 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. His family moved to Montana when he was nine years old.  The third of four siblings, Bob spent his early life playing “Cowboys and Indians” with an authentic ghost town as a backdrop! He loved riding bareback broncos and was mesmerized by amateur rodeo; even taking 1st place at the Darby Rodeo in 1957. He enjoyed track and basketball and was captain of the Blue Devils football team at Corvallis High School before graduating in 1958. After high school, Bob joined the U.S. Navy and served four years on active duty as a torpedoman aboard a diesel submarine – the USS Tiru. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and traveled to Japan before honorably separating from the Navy. While stationed in Hawaii, he met and married his beautiful wife, LaVerne. Bob and LaVerne lived in a little house near the beach, where surfing, waterskiing and snorkeling were some of their favorite pastimes. 

After leaving the Navy, Bob and LaVerne moved to Denver, Colorado, where he began welding and was working on his bachelor’s degree. Working his way through school, Bob did auto body repair and swept the floors of a potato chip factory at night. Bob and LaVerne had three daughters while in Denver – Jo, the oldest, and identical twins, Tamara and Kimberly. They enjoyed camping and hiking in the Colorado area until Bob’s sense of adventure took them to Ramstein, Germany, where he worked for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) as a math and industrial arts teacher in the American Junior High School at Ramstein Air Force Base. He completed his master’s degree in psychology while working in Germany. Bob had many great adventures in Europe, as teaching allowed the summers off for travel. While working with DODDS, he traveled to many other countries including Germany, East Berlin, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Holland, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Scandinavia. He also returned to the US every four years to visit family and would travel to as many states within the continental US as could be managed during the summer break. Traveling with Bob always meant visiting historical sites. Not only a teacher, Bob was also a life-long learner. So many unforgettable family moments were spent hiking, camping, skiing, and exploring Europe together. Bob also loved to take motorcycle trips with LaVerne or Jo and, sometimes, solitary long bicycle trips on his ten-speed bike. He never tired of adventure.

Bob retired from DODDS in 1992 and moved home to Montana. An avid welder and wood-worker, he began metal sculpting in earnest. He created metal sculptures using oxy-acetylene welding by building a framework and filling this in with a bead-on-bead welding technique. His metal sculptures were mostly western (cowboys and Indians), but also included flowers, mountain scenes, eagles, and a couple of modern pieces. His welding talent was truly amazing! Always a natural teacher, Bob taught two of his daughters, Jo and Tamara, to weld. Bob also loved music and enjoyed sitting around with the family, playing guitar, banjo, harmonica and his electronic keyboard. Family was very important to him and he cherished this time with family and grandchildren. Bob and LaVerne had been married for fifty-three years when LaVerne passed away in 2015. Even as age was catching up with him, Bob continued a life of adventure. He and Jo rode motorcycles, bicycles, jet skis, and ATVs. They enjoyed off-roading, camping and skiing. Bob and Jo had many fun road-trips together the last few years and even took a cruise to Alaska. Bob lived for skiing (especially in fresh powder – oh, boy!) and continued to ski all the way up to the age of 83, when arthritis and multiple back surgeries slowed him down enough that he could no longer ski. 

Bob is survived by his older brother, three daughters, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.  Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com