Dennis Fred LaChance

Turton, SD

1939, 2748, Pactola, F-4,

Dennis LaChance was born July 1,1921 at Turton, SD, the fourth child of Fred LaChance and Ella Rahm LaChance. He grew up on a farm near Turton, SD but farming wasn't his interest. He always wanted to know about mechanical things. Dennis and his brother Tom would take their sister Neva's Model T Ford behind the garage and disassemble it, just to see what made it work--but they always had to have it running by Sunday evening so Neva could go to her school teaching job Monday morning. Dennis graduated from Turton High school in 1939 and spent a few years in the Civilian Conservation Corps program in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

In 1942, he went into the Army but really wanted to be in the Army Air Force, so he told the commanding officer he had bad feet. The CO replied "LaChance, you could walk from Texas to South Dakota but I'll try to help." Since the Air Force did not become a separate branch until 1947, Dennis was assigned to the B-29 squadron to become an aircraft mechanic and later a flying flight engineer. He saw duty on many of the Pacific Islands and he was honorably discharged in 1946.

He married Blanche Nicholson at Dalhart, Texas and had one daughter named Barbara Ann. After the war and until 1952 they farmed in South Dakota. Dennis had a mobile welding rig which was a huge generator and auto engine mounted on a trailer. He helped many farmers by doing repairs in the field. Then in 1947, South Dakota had 100 inches of snow. Dennis designed and fabricated a snow plow from used iron which he mounted on his farm tractor. This was a first for that era.

In 1952 he moved his family to Farmington New Mexico, bought an auto dealership and ran the garage.

In the early 1950's there was a need for uranium for nuclear warfare. Dennis and his partners discovered uranium near Moab, Utah. Dennis' part was to build a road up a near-vertical cliff using dynamite and a caterpillar, build sleeping and cooking quarters, install a cart and track system to extract the mining to be loaded on huge ore trucks. He also set up a lighting system back into the mine. It was a quite profitable venture for a period of time. The mine was located near Canyonlands National Park on the east edge of the Green River and is no longer in operation.

Dennis died in a restaurant on a business trip when he aspirated food and choked. It was an untimely death for a 46-year old in excellent condition. His family remains in New Mexico.

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