The following obituaries appeared in the August 21, 2024 edition of the Star Valley Independent.
For more area obituaries, please visit Schwab Mortuary.
For more resources including headstones, please visit the Star Valley Historical Society.
Gregory Pierce
Gregory John Pierce, 61 of Alpine, Wyoming passed away suddenly on July 31, 2024.
He was born on June 20, 1963. Originally from New Jersey, in lived in several states over the years and finally moved to Jackson, Wyoming in 1993, where he resided there for 30 years. He moved to Alpine, Wyoming in January of 2023.
He married his wife, Mary in 1987, in which they enjoyed 37 years together. They had a son, Austin in 1989. He worked most of his life in the trucking industry, and owned 11th Hour Transport with his son for seven years. He loved to travel and be behind the wheel of this truck.
He was a lover of the outdoors and enjoyed exploring on his Four-Wheeler and riding his motorcycle. He always had an “ear” for everyone and being social was his life.
He will be missed by many.
Greg is survived by his wife, Mary B. Pierce, and his son, Austin C. Pierce. He is also survived by his mother, Dolores C. Pierce, and his brother, Robert C. Pierce, and many other beloved relatives.
He was predeceased by his father, Robert G. Pierce in 2021.
His family and friends are planning a memorial bike ride in his honor at a later date.
Donald Baillie
Donald Charles Baillie, 82, passed away on August 12, 2024, in Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming. Born on July 9, 1942 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Don graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1960 and began a career in sales and management with his last position for over 20 years as District Manager for US Welding Supply in Cheyenne.
He and his wife of 42 years, Judith Baillie, retired and moved to Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming in 2000. Here they designed and built their second home together where he could relax and enjoy his passion of fly fishing and enjoying the great outdoors and the Teton Mountain Range. Don was always drawn to the Teton Mountain Range area as his mother, Margaret G. Baillie, was a school teacher in Moose, Wyoming back in 1937.
Don was extremely involved and passionate about the Town of Star Valley Ranch and served on the Planning and Zoning Board for 8-10 years in which 5 of those years he served as Chairman. Don was instrumental in writing over half of the ordinances while serving on the Town Council from 2019-2022.
Don was passionate about his fly-fishing where he looked forward to his fishing trips to Alaska and Canada each summer with his friends. He spent many days rowing his drift boat down the Salt and Snake River’s in Wyoming which brought him so much joy.
He was also an avid snow skier in the winter and spent most weekends on the slopes of Colorado and Wyoming. His love of the sport carried on to his son’s, step-daughter’s and grand-children who because of their Grandpa became as passionate as he. Grandpa Don also dedicated so much of his time to watching his Grandchildren with all their sporting events.
Don leaves behind a legacy of love and laughter, survived by his beloved wife of 42 years, Judy Baillie, his two son’s: Steve Baillie (Wendi) of Billings, Montana, Mike Baillie (Kim) of Cheyenne, Wyoming, his two Step-Daughter’s, Cathy Swindell (Mike Stilson) of Boulder City, Nevada, and Susie Gibadlo (Shaun Armstrong) of Phoenix, Arizona. Grandpa Don is also survived by his nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Don is preceded in death by his mother, Margaret G Baillie, father, Charles F. Baillie, Sister’s, Margaret Loveridge and Dorothy Louise Britthour and brother, Ronald Baillie.
Donald Baillie will be deeply missed by all who knew him, leaving behind memories that will be cherished by his family, friends and community.
Memorial service arrangements will follow at a later date.
Robert Petersen
Robert Nelson Petersen 87, passed away August 12, 2024 in his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born May 29, 1937 in Bingham, Utah to Raymond Shelby Petersen and Afton Bennion Dimond Petersen. His twin brother Raymond (Pete) was born 15 minutes earlier.
Robert lived in Granger, Utah on a dairy farm for his first 10 years where he learned to work at a very young age. He attended Granger Elementary. In 1947 his parents bought a ranch and moved to Cokeville, Wyoming. He gained a love for ranching, working cattle and became a skilled horseman.
As a young teenage boy, Robert was very strong, athletic and involved with school sports. He was a talented football player with quick speed and agility. He also enjoyed basketball where he was scrappy and aggressive. He played the baritone in the high school band and was a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Each year, he would raise a steer to take to North Salt Lake to be judged.
At the end of his sophomore year at Cokeville High School, he became interested in Lois Carol Dayton. Their relationship continued through high school. After a year at Utah State University, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple, September 5, 1956, sealed by Elder LeGrande Richards.
Following another year at Utah State, they moved to Cokeville where Robert continued ranching. There they raised their family of three sons and three daughters. He had a strong work ethic and wanted his family to do the same….. Expecting a job well done.
Roberts community service included Lincoln County Conservation District and Mayor of Cokeville in 2001-2002.
Robert is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His church callings included Ward Clerk, 1st counselor in the Bishopric, member of the High Council, Young Men’s presidency, and Elder’s Quorum Presidency. He and Carol served in the Dublin Ireland mission for two years, Temple Square Mission for 18 months, Logan Temple for a total of five years and the Star Valley Temple for two years.
He loved his family which includes his wife, six children, Steven and KayeLani Petersen, Stewart and Chemene Petersen, Scott and Holly Petersen, Jerre and Diane Holmes, Chuck and Suzanne Reynolds, and Etuate and Julie Tonga, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, his brother Raymond Petersen, sisters, Shirley Deromedis, Kathy Jenkinson, Dorothy Colwell and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Jane Petersen and Afton Jean Petersen, and his brothers, Lannie Petersen and Richard Petersen.
A viewing will be held at the Cokeville Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Friday, August 23, 2024 from 6-8pm and Saturday, August 24, 2024 from 9-10:30 a.m. Followed by funeral services at 11 a.m. Internment will follow services at the Cokeville Cemetery, Cokeville, Wyoming.
Patricia Corsi
Patricia Mae Corsi was born in Lusk, Wyoming on March 12,1940 to Ellen (O’Shea) Pearson and Oliver James Pearson. She died on July 16, 2024, in Afton, Wyoming. She was the youngest of three girls (Rosemary, Betty, and Patricia) who were approximately two years apart each in age. Patricia lived on the ranch in Lusk in her early years.
After a few years, the family moved very briefly to the Gillette, Wyoming area. She remembered being a young girl in Gillette when Gillette had one dirt street with the schoolhouse on one end of town and a soda shop with ice cream on the other end of town. Sometimes, on a hot day, if they had money, she and one or both of her sisters would walk from the schoolhouse to the ice cream store for $.05 ice cream cones.
When she was about four, they moved to the Biddle, Montana area where her grandparents, Johnny and Mary O’Shea had purchased a ten or so section ranch with approximately 1000 head of sheep. As a young girl, she and her sisters rode horses three miles into school at Baking Powder regardless of the weather. In those days, the girls all wore dresses and skirts. She would often tell stories of riding three miles from the ranch to school in a dress at -30 degrees and having three gates to dismount for and open and close between the ranch and school. Patricia had a mare when she was in elementary school that she was very fond of that was a granddaughter to Sea Biscuit. At other times, they rode on a horse drawn wooden cart that had rubber wheels that their father had made for them. Her older sister, Rosemary, would harness one of their horses to the cart in the morning and then drive the three girls to school.
Her Dad held various jobs in the areas they lived in from working on ranches to working on oil rigs. The family raised their own beef, kept a milk cow, and raised a large garden for vegetables that they would can for the winter. They ate a lot of wild game, and she would often say they ate so much antelope when she was growing up, she never wanted to eat it again. However, she did enjoy elk, buffalo, and deer a lot in her later years.
One Christmas each of the three sisters received a bicycle and they rode their bicycles all over the ranch. The ranch was sold somewhere around the time she was in the eighth grade, and they moved to the Miles City area. Patricia graduated from Custer County High School in 1958. She was always very good with her money and often helped her parents and others with financial challenges. When her grandparents sold the ranch, her grandmother gave each of the girls a significant sum of money to help them get started. Patricia used a portion of hers to attend Spokane Business College in Spokane, Washington and to buy a new car. She attended two years of business school before returning to Miles City where she went to work as a Title Clerk for Love Motor.
Soon after returning to Miles City, she met ElRay Corsi. He had been a U.S. Marine and was working as a truck driver for Garrett Freight Lines. On December 23, 1963, they married in a small ceremony in the living room of an Latter-day Saint Bishop’s home in Sheridan, Wyoming. She and ElRay had their first child, Steven, the following year in Miles City, Montana and had their second child, Shawna, in Billings, Montana in late 1969.
She and ELRay lived briefly in Idaho Falls, Idaho between the birth of their two children before returning back to the Billings, Montana area. Her oldest sister, Rosemary, lived in Miles City, Montana about 145 miles away with her family and her middle sister, Betty, lived in Fromberg, Montana about 45 miles away. Truly, many of her favorite memories were going to see her sisters and their families and she would talk about them and their children frequently. Nearly all holidays, regardless of the weather or icy roads, were spent at one of the sister’s homes.
In 1985, she, ElRay, and Shawna moved to Riverside, California. This was their second time living in California, the first being a brief time in 1964 in San Mateo near ElRay’s two sisters and his mother and father. They lived in Riverside and then Colton, California until moving to Star Valley, Wyoming in 2005 where ElRay was born and raised. By this time, she and ElRay were retired and ElRay’s older sister, Carleya, and her husband, Darald, had a summer home in the Valley. The four of them would play cards nearly every day and Mom enjoyed this time immensely. She was always looking for a new card game to add to their repertoire. After a few years of being retired, she went back to work part time as a lunch lady at the Star Valley High School. She really enjoyed her years as a lunch lady and would often talk fondly about the kids and staff that she was able to help in some way.
Throughout her life, she worked for various auto dealers in Miles City, Montana, San Mateo, California, Billings, Montana, Redlands, California, and Fontana, California. She was a hard worker and never complained about the work that had to be done. When ElRay quit driving over the road and began working road construction on local crews, she would get up with him about 4:00 AM., cook breakfast, make him a lunch, send him off to work, get the kids off to school, go to her full time job, and then come home to cook dinner, wash clothes, get kids bathed and in bed, and then finally get to bed herself. She was never one to stay in bed late until after she retired when she began to enjoy her sleep more.
Patricia and ElRay had two grandchildren, Cambria and Steven, from Steven (Marla) and two grandchildren, Kortni and Kayla, from Shawna (Gabriel). From Kortni she was blessed to have three great grandchildren, Declan, Jaxten, and Mason.
She was passionate about her children and grandchildren and always loved spending time with them. One of her favorite things was listening to the kids laugh or doing or saying something to make them laugh. She loved her family and may well have been most pleased when feeding and caring for any one of them. She liked sharing recipes with family and friends and had an amazing ability to make a delicious meal out of almost nothing. She loved company and going to visit people, was known for her potato salad, loved playing any kind of competitive card games, attending family reunions, going out to eat (especially Mexican food), was a big Tom Selleck fan, and liked anything having to do with cowboys. She loved attending rodeos and cheering for the local cowboys and cowgirls. Although she was Catholic in her early years, she later converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and actively enjoyed working as a visiting sister in her wards.
Patricia is preceded in death by both her parents, her husband, ElRay, her sister, Betty, and both of her brothers-in-law. She is survived by her remaining sister, Rosemary, her son, Steven (Marla), her daughter, Shawna (Gabriel), her grandchildren Kortni, Cambria, Kayla, and Steven, three great grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews.
She died peacefully in the Star Valley Care Center in Afton, Wyoming. Her memorial will be Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Latter-day Saint church, 165 E. 5th Ave, in Afton, Wyoming, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that any donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/research or the Star Valley Search and Rescue (SVSAR).
