SHERIDAN - Funeral services for George Bolen Badget, Jr., 77, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Kane Funeral Home with Fr. Stuart Crawshaw officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Elks Cemetery with Masonic rites and military honors.

He died Dec. 24, 2003, at the Sheridan VA Medical Center.

Born Sept. 8, 1926, in Sheridan, he was the son of George and Tenna (Gochnaver) Badget.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 and served in World War II on the destroyer USS Taylor from 1934 to 1947. He re-enlisted from 1951 to 1952 where he served in Korea.

On Feb. 3, 2001, he married Sondra J. Gopperton in Las Vegas.

An avid hunter and fisherman, he also enjoyed gardening, cooking and canning. He was a member of the Elks, the Scottish-Rite Masons Lodge # 8, Kalif Shrine, American Legion 0013 in Buffalo, and was a life member of the Kalif Oriental Band.

He worked at the Sheridan VA Medical Center for 33 years before his retirement as a firefighter.

Survivors include his wife of Sheridan; two stepson, Jeffrey Fortney of Cave Creek, Ariz., and Timothy Gopperton of Roselle, Ill; three step-grandchildren; a brother William and his wife of Sheridan; a sister Margaret Renwick of Santa Ana, Calif.; two nieces; and a nephew.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

The family has requested that memorials be made in George's name to the Sheridan Dog and Cat Shelter or the American Diabetes Association in care of Janet Evans, Cowboy State Bank, P.O. Box 6026, Sheridan, WY 82801.

Casper Star-Tribune - Dec. 29, 2003