Robert R. Williams

Bob Williams, a former state Senator who spent his career keeping the lights on in living rooms and
calving sheds across a wide swath of Central Montana, died Sunday, January 31 in Missoula.

Robert R. Williams was born June 1, 1929 in the hospital in Moore, to Gert and Dave Williams. Bob
attended grade school there, graduated from Hobson High School in 1947 and lived nearly all his life in
Central Montana.

Nov. 28, 1953 Bob married his "Schatzie" and forever love, Kati Stamm, at St. Leo's Catholic Church in
Lewistown. Together Bob and Kati embarked on a lifelong journey of raising five kids and building
community.

Bob's career with the Fergus Electric Co-Op began Easter Sunday, 1949, when he went on a "trouble
call" outside Belt with his longtime boss and friend, Tobe Rader. Like so many men of his day, Bob's early
employment was interrupted by military service; he and his lifelong best friends, Earl Grove and Jim
Turner, were all drafted into the Army Feb. 1, 1951. After basic training at Camp Gordon, Ga., Bob spent
19 months in the Signal Corps in Germany. Upon his honorable discharge Jan. 10, 1953, Bob flew to visit
his parents in California, then caught a ride home with Jim Turner, who also had completed his service.
They reached Hobson at 4:30 a.m. and Bob went to the home of his brother Jim, who roused him at 7:30
a.m. with a hearty "Welcome home, Bob! Time to go to work."

He spent the next 30-plus years at Fergus Electric as a lineman and later in management, and wiring
neighbors' homes and barns on the weekends for both the social aspects and some extra money for the
family. Bob is believed to be the only person in Montana to then hold licenses as both a journeyman
lineman and a master electrician. Bob's FEC territory encompassed a large area, crisscrossing Charlie
Russell Country from the Everson Bench (above the Missouri River) to the Crazy Mountains south of
Two Dot, and from Shawmut to Highwood Baldy. He retired from the co-op Dec. 31, 1983, then made a
list of 20 jobs he could do "if I had to; but I've been too busy and haven't gotten to the first one yet."

Service to his community and others was a core value for Bob. He was elected to the Hobson City
Council in 1956, and Mayor in 1960, then re-elected to three two-year terms. At that point the family
moved – a mile south of Hobson to a home they built on ground bought from Jamie and Jeanette
Stevenson. Bob served six years on the Hobson School Board beginning in 1968 and was a Director of
Montana School Boards Association from 1972-1974. Elected to the Montana Senate in 1984, Bob
represented Judith Basin, Fergus and Petroleum counties in the Legislature for two four-year terms. A
life-long member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, he also actively engaged in numerous fund-raising
projects for the Central Montana community. "Obligated to No One, Responsible to Everyone" was not
merely his straight-forward campaign slogan – it was Bob's way of life.

Bob and Kati were dedicated members of the American Legion and Auxiliary, and the family routinely
took its annual vacation to wherever the national Legion convention took place, be it Miami,
Minneapolis, Honolulu or Denver. In July of 1970, Bob was elected State Commander of the Montana
American Legion and in 1978 was chosen to serve on the National Executive Committee of the Legion.
Much of Bob's and Kati's focus in the Legion and Auxiliary was on supporting Prisoners of War and those
Missing in Action, as well as advocating for Veterans of all eras.

Bob is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Baumann of Hobson; sons Marc (AriZona) of Williston, Dirk
(Kristine Foot) of Missoula, Eric (Kristine) of Cheney, Wash., and Tryg (Heather Guckeen) of Hobson;
sisters Jane Pittaway of Virginia and Sharon Maloof of Florida, and brothers Dick of California and Gary
of Dillon; 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren; and dozens of nieces and nephews. He was
preceded in death by his wife, Kati, and brothers Jim, Don, Jack and Howard.

Bob and Kati are reunited, no doubt "doggin' around the backroads" again, discovering interesting
stories around every corner, and finding friends both old and new.

Friends and family will gather for a memorial service in Hobson this summer. Bob's family suggests
memorials to the Friends of the Hobson Library, PO Box 325, Hobson, MT 59452.
For more information, contact:
Eric Williams, 509-998-0223
hobsonemw@yahoo.com
Read Robert Williams's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.