ROBERT LIQUIN, Obituary

GREAT FALLS Robert Edward Liquin, 81, World War II Navy veteran and longtime Great Falls resident, died of natural causes Monday, June 17, at a Great Falls nursing center after a brief stay.

Services are at 2 p.m. Friday at O'Connor Memorial Chapel. According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.

Robert was born Sept. 3, 1920, in Wilsall to

Walter and Lucile (Robinson) Liquin. He graduated from Wilsall High School and joined the U.S. Forest Service before attending Montana State College in Bozeman.

His education was interrupted by World War II, where he was a radio operator/gunner on a Navy SB2C Helldiver dive bomber stationed on the U.S.S. Yorktown. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in an attack on the Japanese fleet in 1944.

After the war he returned to Bozeman and graduated with a business degree in 1948. He then worked for General Mills in Great Falls for 37 years, until his retirement in 1985.

He was married to Charlotte Esp from 1946 until their divorce in 1951.

He married Jeanine Ophus on May 19, 1956, in Fort Benton. They were married for 45 years.

He was a member of VFW Post 1087, the General Mills 25 Year Club, and loved bowling, fishing, card playing, horseshoe playing, and was once well known for his closed-pit barbecues for various towns and organizations around Montana. He and his wife hosted Ophus family gatherings over Labor Day weekends for 20 years.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jeanine, on June 10, 2001.

Survivors include sons, Dick (Linda) Liquin of Boise, Idaho, Daryl (Jane) Liquin of Palatine, Ill., Frank Liquin of Maple Valley, Wash., Curtis Liquin of Henderson, Nev.; sister, Louise of Lacey, Wash.; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, and more than 50 nieces and nephews.