BUTTE - The Southwest Montana Veterans Home in Butte was built largely on the efforts of Robert Pavlovich, and that’s why this bench was dedicated to him to honor a legacy that’s as solid as the granite this bench is made of.
“If it wasn’t for Bob Pavlovich, this veteran’s home would not be here. You can take that to the bank and spend it. That’s the guy who did it,” Robert Pavlovich’s friend Fritz Daily said during the ceremony.
See the powerful tribute to Robert Pavlovich at the Veterans Home dedication ceremony and hear from those who knew him best. Watch the video!
During an emotional ceremony Thursday, a granite bench was dedicated and placed outside the front office of the veteran’s home that Pavlovich helped get built during his time in the Montana Legislature.
“You know, my heart is proud. You know, those are shoes, you realize you’ll never fill a man like his shoes. Thirty years he worked to get this here, 30 years he never gave up,” said his daughter Julie Pavlovich.
As an Army veteran, Pavlovich spent his last years as a resident in the veteran’s home he helped get started before passing at age 95.
“Thank God he had good Yugoslavian bones in him and he lasted until 95, so he got to see it. He got to see the fruits of his labor. Who else can ask for more than that in a lifetime?” said Julie Pavlovich.
Daily told those gathered at the ceremony that he believes his friend is still doing good work even after his death.
“I think that Jesus needed a little help, and he said, ‘I’m going to bring Bobby up here to help me.’ We got some veterans with PTSD and whatever, and they need some help. And, Bobby, you’re up there. I know he’s up there looking down on us,” he said.
WATCH: The grand opening for Butte's veteran home
