Dewain Andrew LaVallie: 1953 — 2023
Funeral service Dewain (Duane) LaVallie will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Gillette Memorial Chapel with Pastor Dan Holden officiating; interment to follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. Visitation will take place from 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at Gillette Memorial Chapel.
Dewain Andrew (Duane) LaVallie, age 69, passed away Friday, March 24, 2023, at Campbell County Health from COPD.
Duane was born on Dec. 16, 1953, to Helen Brunelle and Louis LaVallie in Belcourt, North Dakota. He attended school in Belcourt, Flandreau and Wahpeton, North Dakota. During the summers, he helped his dad with haying.
At the age of 18, Duane ventured to Gillette, Wyoming, to work in the oilfields. This is where he met the love of his life, Julie Stickney, the couple was married in 1974. Duane had his son Kevin from a previous relationship that Julie welcomed as her own. They welcomed their first daughter, Tara, two years after wedding.
Duane changed careers and started working construction. The couple later welcomed two more daughters, Chrystal and Angel.
Duane loved family outings, especially in the summertime. He loved to take trips out of town. Duane couldn’t wait for summer to come every year so that he could sit out on the deck and visit with his family and neighbors. Also, in the summer Duane would love to build and work in his yard. When he wasn’t in his yard, he loved watching “Gunsmoke” and Clint Eastwood movies.
than anything his grandkids and great-grandkids meant the world to him.
At the time of his death, he was employed with Campbell County Senior Center.
Duane is survived by his wife, Julie; son, Kevin Martin; daughters, Tara (Scott) Kercher, Chrystal LaVallie, and Angel LaVallie all of Gillette, Wyoming; eight grandsons, four granddaughters, five great-grandkids and one more on the way; siblings, Sandra, Linda, Patricia, Rodney, Carl, Marlin, Bryant, Harvey, Terry, Tom, Joe, and Gail.
He is preceded in death by his parents, siblings, Diane, Billy, Doris, Leslie, Stoney, half-brother, Vernon, mother and father-in-law, Howard and Emily Stickney.
Condolences may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel 210 West 5th St., Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences may also be expressed at www.gillettememorialchapel.com.
Jerry Wade: 1942 — 2023
Funeral service for Jerry Wade will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Gillette Memorial Chapel; interment to follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. Visitation will take place from 5 to 7p.m. Friday, March 31, 2023, at Gillette Memorial Chapel.
Jerry Wayne Wade passed from this world on March 24, 2023, from complications of a stroke. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado, on June 9, 1942, to Troy Lee and Hazel Augusta (Trammell) Wade.
Jerry attended school in Pueblo and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1959. He was stationed in San Diego, where his dad had also served, and performed maneuvers in Japan and Hawaii. After discharge, Jerry attended college for business and architecture and worked for the Operators’ Union in Colorado. He always loved music and recorded an LP playing the piano at age nine. He also played organ and guitar, usually classical, standards, or boogie-woogie.
After marrying Linda Gunnels in 1976, he moved the family to Gillette and worked on the construction of Belle Aye mine. He was hired by Amax as an accountant, but shifted to hourly and earned the nickname “Blade Wade” running equipment at Eagle Butte. He retired in 1995 after 17 years of service.
Jerry was a Mason and member of Eastern Star. He and Linda served as Worthy Patron and Worthy Matron in 1986-87. He was a Christian who preferred to commune with God in the Big Horns, where the family enjoyed camping. He also designed houses including the family home in Foothills. Later, he moved to Colorado City, Colorado, and returned to work for the Operators’ Union until retirement.
Jerry and Linda always welcomed their family into their home. Their children, Tammi Hitt, Bobby (Angie) Wade of Gillette, and Misti Wade (Billy Dean) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grandchildren, Jami (Brandon) Cone, Jenni Hitt, Erik Peck, Tycie (Matt Beasley), Kendra Wade, Trez (Laine) Adair, Jared Wade, Baylee Swenson, Shayna Wade (Jon Summers), Kiki and Quaid (Taylor) Neff and plus or minus ten great-grandkids loved barbecues on the deck, sleeping in the window seat and bathing in the hot tub.
He moved back to Gillette in 2011 and lost his wife, Linda, to cancer. He married Rita in 2017. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and his wife, Rita, and her children.
Condolences may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel 210 West 5th St., Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences may also be expressed at www.gillettememorialchapel.com.
