In Memory Of
Steve Rizor Sr.
Steve Rizor Sr.
Steve F. Rizor Sr. passed away February 17, 2011 at Wyoming Medical Center, in Casper, Wyoming, at the age of 95.
Steve was born October 19, 1915, at Bremen, Indiana. His parents were William Arthur Rizor and and Jennie Pfefferle. Steve was of the sixth generation of the German family of Jacob Rizor who came to America from Switzerland before the Revolutionary War and settled in southwestern Pennsylvania as part of the so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch". Steve was the second of eight children.
Steve experienced several major difficulties during his life but he somehow managed to overcome them all. The first major problem was when he was 15 years old he and his siblings lost their parents in a disastrous house fire. After the younger children were settled in foster homes, Steve decided to join his older brother, Willis-also know as Bill, who had gone to live with their grandfather on his ranch north of Lusk, Wyoming. He worked on the ranch until he was twenty-three when he married Letha Daley of Guernsey, Wyoming.
Steve and Letha were given a parcel of land in Pleasant valley near Guernsey where they lived when the first child was born. This child, Clea Marlene, was lost as and infant. The second child, Steve Jr., was also born while they lived at pleasant Valley. During this time Steve worked at the Sunrise Iron mines of Colorado Fuel and Iron.
Steve then moved to the to the west side of Guernsey near the North Platte River to a section of town referred to as "the acres". During this time, Steve's younger brother, Chet and Steve were working at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian Islands. On December seventh, 1941, they witnessed the Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbor from a near by hillside. This ended their employment at Pearl Harbor and they were sent home only to be drafted into World II. Chet went into the Army and Steve went into the Navy to be sent back to Pearl Harbor. Returning from World War II in 1945 Steve started working for the U.S. Government Bureau of Reclamation as a power plant operator at Guernsey. At the same time he continued his education through home study courses in power electricity. The last four children, Raymond, Ronald, Kathleen and Victoria were born at the home on the North Platte River in Guernsey. After moving to a house near the Guernsey school for a few years, Steve relocated his family to a Government housing camp at Boysen, Wyoming in 1956. He was an operator at the Boysen Power Plant on Boysen Lake for about two years before relocating to Truth of Consequences, New Mexico. There he operated the Elephant Butte Power Plant on the Rio Grande River for about one year. In 1959 he moved to Jamestown, North Dakota to become a Power Dispatcher for the Bureau of Reclamation. In this position he directed the flow of electricity over an approximate five state area for about eight years. This period he considered to be the high point of his career and a worthy goal for someone with only a tenth grade formal education.
About 1967 he returned to Wyoming and purchased the small house in Casper where he was to reside for the remainder of his life. During the next six years he operated power plants at Alcova, Glendo and Kortez, retiring at the age of fifty eight. He spent the next thirty-five years working on his house and the next-door property which he had purchased in the mid 1980's. Steve always enjoyed life. His favorite times were working on the ranch as a young man, hunting deer and antelope in Wyoming and devoting all of his time to his family.
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Letha, daughter Clea and son Ronald, four brothers and two sisters. He is survived by one brother Stanley Rizor two sons Steve Rizor Jr. and his wife Angela, Raymond Rizor and his wife Karen, two daughters Kathleen Rizor and Victoria Storm and husband Michael and daughter-in-law Keiko Rizor, Ron's wife, and eight grandchildren, nine greatgrand children and two great great grand children.
Graveside services will be 2:00 pm June 4, 2011 at Prairie Rest Cemetery, Guernsey, Wyoming.
Services will by conducted by Homer Scheuerman of the Jehovah Witnesses'.
Steve was born October 19, 1915, at Bremen, Indiana. His parents were William Arthur Rizor and and Jennie Pfefferle. Steve was of the sixth generation of the German family of Jacob Rizor who came to America from Switzerland before the Revolutionary War and settled in southwestern Pennsylvania as part of the so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch". Steve was the second of eight children.
Steve experienced several major difficulties during his life but he somehow managed to overcome them all. The first major problem was when he was 15 years old he and his siblings lost their parents in a disastrous house fire. After the younger children were settled in foster homes, Steve decided to join his older brother, Willis-also know as Bill, who had gone to live with their grandfather on his ranch north of Lusk, Wyoming. He worked on the ranch until he was twenty-three when he married Letha Daley of Guernsey, Wyoming.
Steve and Letha were given a parcel of land in Pleasant valley near Guernsey where they lived when the first child was born. This child, Clea Marlene, was lost as and infant. The second child, Steve Jr., was also born while they lived at pleasant Valley. During this time Steve worked at the Sunrise Iron mines of Colorado Fuel and Iron.
Steve then moved to the to the west side of Guernsey near the North Platte River to a section of town referred to as "the acres". During this time, Steve's younger brother, Chet and Steve were working at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian Islands. On December seventh, 1941, they witnessed the Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbor from a near by hillside. This ended their employment at Pearl Harbor and they were sent home only to be drafted into World II. Chet went into the Army and Steve went into the Navy to be sent back to Pearl Harbor. Returning from World War II in 1945 Steve started working for the U.S. Government Bureau of Reclamation as a power plant operator at Guernsey. At the same time he continued his education through home study courses in power electricity. The last four children, Raymond, Ronald, Kathleen and Victoria were born at the home on the North Platte River in Guernsey. After moving to a house near the Guernsey school for a few years, Steve relocated his family to a Government housing camp at Boysen, Wyoming in 1956. He was an operator at the Boysen Power Plant on Boysen Lake for about two years before relocating to Truth of Consequences, New Mexico. There he operated the Elephant Butte Power Plant on the Rio Grande River for about one year. In 1959 he moved to Jamestown, North Dakota to become a Power Dispatcher for the Bureau of Reclamation. In this position he directed the flow of electricity over an approximate five state area for about eight years. This period he considered to be the high point of his career and a worthy goal for someone with only a tenth grade formal education.
About 1967 he returned to Wyoming and purchased the small house in Casper where he was to reside for the remainder of his life. During the next six years he operated power plants at Alcova, Glendo and Kortez, retiring at the age of fifty eight. He spent the next thirty-five years working on his house and the next-door property which he had purchased in the mid 1980's. Steve always enjoyed life. His favorite times were working on the ranch as a young man, hunting deer and antelope in Wyoming and devoting all of his time to his family.
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Letha, daughter Clea and son Ronald, four brothers and two sisters. He is survived by one brother Stanley Rizor two sons Steve Rizor Jr. and his wife Angela, Raymond Rizor and his wife Karen, two daughters Kathleen Rizor and Victoria Storm and husband Michael and daughter-in-law Keiko Rizor, Ron's wife, and eight grandchildren, nine greatgrand children and two great great grand children.
Graveside services will be 2:00 pm June 4, 2011 at Prairie Rest Cemetery, Guernsey, Wyoming.
Services will by conducted by Homer Scheuerman of the Jehovah Witnesses'.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Steve Rizor Sr., please visit our flower store.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Guestbook
Visits: 10
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors