Robert E. Laporte

Robert E. Laporte, 69, a lifelong resident of Tippecanoe, died Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at his home after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. Born December 21, 1942 in Tippecanoe, he was a son of the late Howard “Mussey” and Ruth May (Garabrandt) Laporte.

After his graduation from Freeport High School in 1960, Bob worked for a time in the local claypipe industry with Amvit and Cantex, before starting his thirty year career as a diesel mechanic for Ohio CAT, continuing until his retirement in 2008. He was an avid outdoorsman who especially enjoyed deer and coon hunting, and was a member of the Freeport Sportsman’s Club and the Tippecanoe Big Buck Club. Bob’s great passion for more than fifty years has been serving his community as a volunteer firefighter. A longtime member of the Ohio State Firefighter Association, he was the Chief of the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department (which covers fifty square miles and has a crew of 18 firefighters and 5 EMTs) since 2000. During that time, he was integral in the conversion of the former Tippecanoe Elementary School into the current fire department facility. He will be deeply missed by the many men and women with whom he served there.

Bob is survived by his wife of forty-six years, Alice (Bridgeman) Laporte of the home; children, Robert E. “Rob” (Sharen) Laporte, Jr. of Tippecanoe, Lori (Charles) Cyrus of Freeport and Jason Laporte of Tippecanoe; grandchildren, Courtney (Steve) Piatt, Cheyenne (Clayton Edwards), Shaunee and Shania Cyrus, and Michelle and Miranda McCue; a great-granddaughter, Presleigh Piatt; brother, James (Verna) Laporte of Tippecanoe; mother-in-law, Evelyn “Dolly” Palmer of Tippecanoe; brother-in-law, Alfred Cannon of Tuscarawas; sister-in-law, Pat Laporte of New Philadelphia; and aunt, Lucille Garabrandt of New Philadelphia. He will also be sadly missed by his many nieces, nephews, close friends and neighbors. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers, Howard and Charles Laporte, and a sister, June Cannon.

Services for Bob, officiated by Pastor Jim McConnell, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 16, in the R.K. Lindsey Funeral Home in Dennison. Interment will follow in Greenmont Cemetery in Freeport. Family and friends are invited to call at the funeral home from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home with a fireman’s memorial service held at 7:30 p.m. during calling hours. Those wishing to honor Bob’s memory by a charitable contribution are encouraged to do so to the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department, 81125 Gardner Rd., Tippecanoe, OH 44699.