Richard Caudillo

LAUREL - Richard Caudillo passed away Sunday night, Sept. 18, 2005. The son of Pedro Ysidro Caudillo and Martina Navarro Caudillo, he was born Dec. 26, 1930, in Bridger.
Richard attended school in Fromberg and Billings. He quit school and went to work at 16 after the death of his father. Richard worked as hod carrier for Arnold Graff Masonry until entering the Army at 18, in January of 1949.
He served in Japan as part of the Army of Occupation until the Korean War began. He was assigned to B Battery, 2/82nd Field Artillery as a gunner. As a member of First Cavalry Division, Richard was among the first troops sent to Korea. Richard was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal, the Korean Service Medal with three bronze stars, and the United Nations Korean Service Medal.
Richard returned to Billings after Korea and returned to work as a hod carrier. He worked for many of the major masonry companies in the Billings area including Graff Masonry and Pease Masonry, retiring in 1983.
Richard married Grace Abernathy in 1962, taking her two sons, Michael and Thomas Furman, as his own.
Richard began his second career as a janitor at the Laurel Middle School and retired for the second time in 1993.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; a sister, Carmen; and his daughter-in-law, Sadie Furfman, who was survived by her husband Thomas and daughter Fiona.
He is survived by his sons, Michael and Thomas; two sisters, Adelina (Adolph) Lopez and Toni (Roger) Clemmons; four grandchildren, Desiree, Fiona, Melaine and Michael, Jr. Richard is also survived by several nieces and nephews and a great-grand¬daughter, Ava Marie.
A vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, at Smith Funeral Home in Laurel. The Funeral Mass is at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church in Laurel. Internment with Military honors will be at the St. Anthony Cemetery.