Obituaries: Robert G. Cloud

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Robert G. (Bob) Cloud, 72, died March 25, 2008 in Sagle, Idaho. A memorial service will be held 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Moon Creek Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, followed by a potluck luncheon at 3 p.m. at the Mt. Vernon Grange Hall.

He was born Dec. 10, 1935, in the farmhouse on the Cloud farm in rural Park Rapids, Minn., the fifth of seven sons born to Grant and Della Cloud.

He started school in what was then school district 11 in Park Rapids. In 1944, his parents moved to the western United States: a year in Roy, Utah, followed by four years in Westwood (Lassen County), Calif., and finally settling in Mt. Vernon in November 1949.

While at Mt. Vernon High School, he participated in baseball and basketball, and during the summers, he worked on several area ranches. After graduation in 1953, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Seabees until 1956. While in the Seabees, he began operating construction equipment, which became his lifetime vocation.

Following the Navy, he lived in various places, while working in construction. First he moved to Minnesota, where he worked in the construction of underground telephone services; then to Colorado Springs, Colo., where he worked on the initial construction of the Air Force Academy Chapel; to the Bay area of California; and in 1970 moved back to Colorado, still enjoying work in construction.

In the late 1980s, he moved to Nevada, working throughout the state, including at a gold and silver mine near Golconda. He retired there in Jan. 2001 and from 2003 to Jan. 2008, he lived in Topock, Ariz. During the last months of his life, he lived with his son Kyle and family in Sagle, Idaho.

Mr. Cloud was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers, Elmer, Bud, Russell and Kenny. Survivors include sons, Jerry (wife Lejla) Cloud and Kyle (wife Amy) Cloud; daughter, Janelle (husband Kip) Eash; grandchildren, Amanda, Madison, Caitlynn, Logan and Levi; two brothers, Lyle (wife Peggy) and Roger; the mother of his children, Ruth; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Flowers in his memory may be sent to Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. Donations in his name may also be sent to Bonner Community Hospice, P.O. Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 84864.