Ronald Joseph Saville, 67, a Vietnam
War Air Force Veteran died September 4th, 2017 at his home in Fort
Benton due to natural causes.
Ron was born on October 9, 1949 in Alton, Illinois, the son of Eugene J. and
Mary Louise (Leady) Saville.
He graduated from Alton Marquette
High School in May of 1967 and that following October enlisted in the U.S. Air
Force. His first duty assignment was at Malmstrom Air Force Base at Great
Falls, Montana where he met the everlasting love of his life, Barbara Rose
Romig. They were married on November 29, 1969 when he returned from duty as a
Security Police Sentry Dog Handler stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Base
Thailand where he guarded B-52 Stratofortresses, KC-135 Stratotankers, and U.S.
Navy P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft. His constant companion that year
was a sentry dog named “Shep” who was originally from Billings, MT. As he
always said; “that Shep saved my bacon more than once”.
He later enlisted with the U. S.
Army Reserve in October of 1974 and was assigned to the 889th Supply
& Service Company. During his nineteen years with the USAR, his training
sent him to West Germany twice, once to Mannheim in the American sector, and to
Braunschweig in the British sector. Later he was sent to Yongsan Supply Depot
in Seoul, South Korea and once to Honduras. He was activated for Desert Shield
in 1990 but was subpoenaed back to Montana by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to
testify in a continuing drug trial. He retired from the military in 1993 with a
total of twenty-three years of service. He served his country with great pride
and never regretted any of it.
After his discharge from the Air
Force in 1971, Ron was hired by the Great Falls Police Department. He worked
there until 1973 when he went to work for the Fort Benton Police Department. He
worked there for five years and then transferred to the Chouteau County
Sheriff’s Office, where he worked for twenty-eight years, the last four years
as under-sheriff, retiring in 2006. After his retirement from law enforcement he
worked at the Missouri River Medical Center kitchen as a dietary aide for four
years.
Ron was a member of the Vietnam
Security Police Association, Vietnam Dog Handler Association, The American
Legion, VFW and the Disabled American Veterans.
Ron enjoyed following the St. Louis
Cardinals and attended games whenever he got back to St. Louis, and the Great
Falls Voyagers. But his biggest thrill was following the Professional Bull
Riders (PBR). He tried to attend as many events as he could as well as the
World Finals in Las Vegas.
Ron is survived by his wife Barbara
of 47 years of Fort Benton, MT; a son, Matthew Joseph and his wife Tina of Deer
Lodge, MT; daughters, Beverly Ann Saville and her two children, Aaliya Bozung
and Kylie Bozung of Kansas City, KS and Connie Lee and her husband Alan Shores
and their two children, Corbin and Hailey of Kansas City, MO; a brother Robert
E. Saville (Jeanette) of Godfrey, IL; and sisters Debra L. (Saville) (Michael)
Molloy and Christine L. (Saville) (John) Ashley; as well as numerous nieces and
nephews.
He was preceded in death by his
father, Eugene J. Saville and his mother Mary Louise (Leady) Saville;
grandparents, Joseph A. and Viola (French) Leady and Alonso and Rene (Dry)
Saville.
Visitation will be Friday, September
8th, 2017 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Benton Funeral Home
followed by his Funeral Mass on
Saturday, September 9th, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception
Catholic Church. Burial will be at
the Riverside Cemetery with full military honors.
Please visit Ron's online memorial page at bentonfuneralhome.com
to leave a message of condolence for his family.
SERVICES
Visitation
Friday, September 08, 2017
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Benton Funeral Home
1201 Front St
Fort Benton, Montana 59442
Funeral Mass
Saturday, September 09, 2017
10:00 AM
Immaculate Conception Catholic
Church
1233 16th Street
Fort Benton, Montana 59442
