Rock River man remembered for work, wit and family devotion

Rock River lost one of its quiet steadies when Jerry Edmond Rabidue died May 21 at age 84, leaving behind the kind of legacy that small towns feel in their bones: hard work, practical skill, and a family life that stretched across generations.

Rabidue spent his life in the jobs that keep rural Wyoming moving. Over the years, he worked as a lineman, mechanic, heavy equipment operator and business owner, and he served for many years on the board of Carbon Power & Light. In a place like Rock River, where the 2020 Census counted just 211 residents, that kind of work carried more than a paycheck. It meant showing up when lines went down, roads needed help, equipment broke or decisions about a co-op’s future had to be made.

Carbon Power & Light is headquartered in Saratoga and says it has an outpost in Rock River, along with a service territory measured in thousands of member-owners and miles of energized line. Its board is elected by those member-owners, and decisions can affect rates, rights-of-way and work plans. Rabidue’s long service put him at the center of a system that rural families rely on every day.

But his family remembered him first as a provider, teacher and storyteller. Rabidue married Carolyn Banks on June 25, 1961, and together they raised four daughters. He is survived by Carolyn, daughters Jodi Newkirk and Corri Sandoval, several granddaughters and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two daughters, Pegi and Sherri Rabidue, along with his parents, Percy and Virginia Rabidue, and his sister, Joanne Lemler.

Those who knew him described a man who stayed busy outside of work, too. He was an avid trapper, hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman, the sort of Wyoming man who understood the country around Rock River as well as he understood a wrench or a power line. His family said he had a quick wit and a small grin that could ease almost any situation, and they called him their teacher, mentor, confidant and supporter.

The family also thanked the staff at Ivinson Memorial Hospital for their care and compassion. No services were planned, a private farewell for a man his family remembered as their Superman, and for Rock River, one more reminder of how much a town can depend on the people who keep it together without asking for notice.