Forrest Dale Cordes

Forrest “Frosty” Cordes

Forrest Dale Cordes known to most simply as “Frosty” went home to his Father in Heaven Saturday December 15, 2012.

He was born on March 3, 1925 in Guthrie, OK. He was the second of three children born to Henry and Fairy Cordes.

Frosty was introduced to his future wife Victoria in the fall of 1947, four months later, on New Year Day 1948, they were married.  Married life took these two, to many places over the next 64 years while working in the oil industry.  

In 1973, after working in the oil fields of Oklahoma, Montana and Wyoming he was offered a field management position in the oil industry in Iran. He and Victoria packed up and moved with their two youngest children. He was warmly accepted by both ex-patriots and locals alike. Frostys’ position was commonly referred to as the “company man” but unlike his counter parts Frosty would show up on location in coveralls and a hard hat instead of a suit and brief case. “Mr. Frosty” was what he was known as by his Iranian crews.  Frosty spent the next 5 years on the other side of the world with his family until conflict in the region forced them out of Iran. Frosty took a position in Cabimas, Venezuela in early 1979 where he was the foreman for offshore drilling operations on Lake Maracaibo. Again he and Victoria moved with two children to yet another foreign country. In 1980 Frosty moved his family back to Powell and took a position working 28 days on and 28 days off in Egypt, doing most of his work on the Red Sea. Frosty did this until 1985 when he was offered a new position with an oil company in the Netherlands managing off shore operations on the North Sea. Living in their sea side town near The Hague, he and Victoria loved the country side, the Dutch people, walks along the shore line and tulips galore.

Frosty retired from the oil industry in the late 80’s. Unwilling to actually retire, Frosty sold cars for Garvin Motors, and even stocked shelves and was a checker at Wal-Mart. He said he was “too young to be the greeter”.  He even joined Victoria delivering the Billings Gazette for 13+ years, serving his Gazette customers faithfully 365 days a year. It wasn’t enough to just toss the paper on the sidewalk or place it in the tube on the road, Frosty insisted on walking some of the papers to the door and placing it inside the screen for a number customers on his route. Frosty found himself back in the retail business when The Merc was started in 2004.  He was certainly at home at the Merc, helping customers with clothes purchases, stocking merchandise and of course, visiting!

Frosty never new a stranger, only friends he hadn‘t met yet. He was full of corny jokes, and big laughs. He loved spending time with family, reading, doing yard work, and even enjoyed a round of golf now and then.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Victoria, son, Peter, parents, Henry and Fairy, sister June, and, brother Tyler.

He is survived by his daughter; K. Suzan Grenier, Boulder, Co., sons; William “Randy”, Michael “Rene” (Sandy) and Victor (Colleen) Cordes, Powell, WY and Peggy Cordes, Casper WY. grand children; Michelle (Tim) Garrett, Justin Cordes, Casper WY. Hannah, Teagan, Zane and Ryan Cordes, Powell WY and Dylan Cordes, Powell WY., great grandchildren; Randi and Brooke Garrett, Casper, WY.

Services will be held at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church in Powell at 10:00 am, Saturday, December 22, 2012. Burial will follow at Crown Hill Cemetery, Powell WY.