Larry Matthew “Lawrence” “Tux” Cliff, 56, died Dec. 3, 2007, at Great Falls hospital of natural causes.
A wake was held Wednesday and funeral services were planned for this morning. Lawrence was born on July 30, 1951, to Lewis M. “Crow” Cliff and Bernice Mae Perry at the Fort Belknap Agency Hospital. He attended elementary school in Lodgepole and attended the Fort Sill Indian High School in Lawton, Okla. He was a member of the rodeo and band clubs. He loved to ride horses, which he did most of his life. He also rode bulls in his leisure time and loved teaching others how to ride. Lawrence was very active in doing ranch work. He had worked with various ranchers along the Hi-Line, helping with cattle roundup, branding, fixing fence, and just being an all around hand. He also liked to build and repair things. He attended the Police Academy in Bismarck, N.D., and later worked as a police officer at Fort Belknap for awhile. During the summers, he worked as a firefighter and as a camp crew member for the Forestry Department until he became disabled. Some of his hobbies included listening to Country Western music and watching his bull riding videos. Lawrence had two special little ones, who were his favorites, Carter Cochran, who called him “Boo Man” and Emily Picotte. He had a very special friend, our former judge, Terry Healy, whom he really liked and would go visit. He was preceded in death by his father, Lewis M. “Crow” Cliff; his maternal grandparents, Albert and Vernie Perry; his paternal grandmother, Jenny (Cliff) Birdtail; his paternal grandfather, Jim Snow; a sister, Debra Cliff; a brother, Lewis D. “Mike” Cliff, and a baby grandson, Zachery Horn. Lawrence is survived by his only daughter, Terry Ann (Mike Martinez) Messerly of Three Mile; his mother, Bernice Clark of Fort Belknap Agency; his sisters, Marlene Perry of Lodgepole, Carol Ann (Cliff) Cochran of Three Mile, Jewel (Robert Scheaffer) Perry, Vernie Healy and Mayme (Lee Manual) Healy, all of Fort Belknap Agency; his brothers, Thomas Harmon (Kim) of Saulte St. Marie, Wisc., James “Bim” Healy of Fort Belknap Agency and Kirk Healy of Great Falls; six granddaughters, and numerous nieces and nephews. Arrangements have been entrusted to Edwards Funeral Home of Chinook.
