Gary Dean LAROQUE

PLAINS - Gary Dean LaRoque, 71, passed to his Savior and Great Spirit on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005, in Plains.Gary was a kind and loving man to all his family and friends. Those of us blessed to have known him lost our symbol for compassion that day. Through his spirit, he will guide us to our own understanding of compassion.A "Farm Boy" in rural Alexander, N.D., Gary helped his parents, Doris and Ernie LaRoque, toil the land in the '50s. He and his family moved to Missoula in 1966. Motorcycle racing was an early passion, mixed with building hot rods, including his 1936 Ford five-window rumble seat coupe. He acquired his coupe in his teens, made it work and restored it in his early '40s. His car often made its way to work at Ron's Auto Refinishing, where he worked for 32 years as a body man and painter.Gary's love for humans spilled over to his love for animals. He knew they could reason and loved them, too!Many extraordinary things can be said of Gary, but he was a man who just did and let others make of it what they would. Gary would concur with his late father, Ernie, "Too many of us become enraged because we have to bear the shortcomings of others. We should remember that none of us are perfect and that others see our defects as obviously as we see theirs. We forget too often to look at ourselves through the eyes of our friends. Let us therefore bear the shortcomings of each other for the ultimate benefit of everyone."Gary is survived by Margaret LaRoque; his only son, Kurt and his wife Roxanne; his three beautiful and gifted daughters, Cindy Hall and her husband Mike, Linda Schell and her husband Ray and Sandra LaRoque; his mother, Doris LaRoque, 93, who celebrated her birthday Oct. 7, with family and her oldest son, Gary. His daughters Cindy and Linda sang for their grandma, but Gary was so touched by the beauty of his daughters and their gift for music, he headed back to Plains with tears of joy.Gary was the oldest of two brothers, Jerry "Buddy" LaRoque and his wife Tisha and David LaRoque and his wife Tammy. Gary has five grandchildren, one new great-grandchild and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.Visitation will be held from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Garden City Funeral Home. Services for Gary will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday followed by a gathering of family and friends in the funeral home's community room.Arrangements are under the care of Garden City Funeral Home.