MEDUSA — Victor L. La Plante spend the bulk of his life in public service — in the Navy as a young man, as a State Trooper for his career, and as a Rensselaerville town judge in his later years.

He died unexpectedly on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. He was 80.

Mr. La Plante was raised on the family farm in Medusa. His father, Everette La Plante, worked for the railroad and his mother, Lillian (née Van Eps) La Plante, helped her mother run an old folks home, called Rest Seekers, on the farm. As a youth, Mr. La Plante enjoyed playing soccer and worked on his grandparents’ farm.

“He met my mom his senior year of high school; she had transferred from another state. They married at 19,” said their son, John La Plante.

Their union lasted 60 years, ending only with his death. “He always called her his bride,” said John La Plante. Victor La Plante wrote his own obituary and in it he said of his beloved wife that she was “God’s greatest gift to him.” He also wrote, “If you saw one of them, you generally saw the other. They truly enjoyed the company of each other.”

Mr. La Plante served in the United States Navy from 1955 to 1959, attaining the rank of Petty Officer, First Class. Because of the efforts of his good friend, Mike Miszko, his records were found allowing him life membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Mr. La Plante had served on the USS Buck, a destroyer, his son said. “It took years to be acknowledged that one of its missions was for wartime,” he said.

After leaving the Navy, Mr. La Plante had several “awful night jobs” before realizing his dream of becoming a New York State Trooper, said his son. “It had a lot to do with the Navy and an idea of public service,” John La Plante said of his father’s desire to be a State Trooper. “In the fifties and sixties, the Troopers were the making of myths … All of the Troopers were 6 foot, 5 inches tall and one Trooper would cover an entire county.”

Mr. La Plante “stretched to make it to 5 feet, 9 inches,” said his son. “That was the shortest they’d take.” The height requirement was met, he explained, by sighting a shotgun over the roof of a police car.

Mr. La Plante entered the New York State Police in 1962 and retired as a First Sergeant in 1987. His favorite time as a Trooper was the 14 years he spent as first sergeant in the academy, his son said; there were only 11 first sergeants in all of New York State. “He ran the whole facility,” John La Plante said.

Mr. La Plante was always extremely proud to be part of the tradition of the State Police, and at the time of his death was a lifetime member of the Association of Former New York State Troopers.

As a father, John La Plante said, “I remember him as a Trooper. He was bigger than life to me.”

To relax, Victor La Plante and his wife would take trips on his touring motorcycle, traveling as far north as Nova Scotia and south to the Appalachian Trail and Smoky Mountains.

After retiring from the State Police, Mr. La Plante became a town justice in Rensselaerville, serving for 25 years, starting in 1987. “He ran unopposed in most elections,” his son said. “No one thought they could beat him.”

He was “very pleased that his friends and neighbors entrusted him with the judicial duties of the township for those many years,” Victor La Plante wrote.

“He was very private as a Trooper,” his son said. “After retiring, he opened up a lot.” He would enjoy firehouse functions — his wife started the ladies’ auxiliary — and also enjoyed the Democratic Social Club.

Mr. La Plante was a lifelong member and communicant of St. John’s Church and, with his wife, was an altar server.

He mowed the lawn at the town park for free and drove a school bus for Greenville Central School and Headstart for five years until the disease of muscular dystrophy made that impractical. “He was a champion of the children he drove to school, and enjoyed seeing their growth,” Victor la Plante wrote.

“Altogether,” his son said, “he had 54 years of public service.”

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Victor L. La Plante is survived by his wife, Gail; by his three children, Jo Anne Evans and her husband, Robert, James La Plante and his wife, Kim, and John La Plante and his wife, Lisa; and by his siblings, Everette E. (Bud) La Plante Jr. and his wife, Cookie, Yvonne Palasik, Phyllis Bienduga, Elizabeth Cullen her husband, Gerry, Theodore La Plante and his wife, Carey, and Thomas La Plante.

He is also survived by his very special grandchildren, Alison, Erin, Lillian, and Danielle; by his great-granddaughter, Theadora; as well as special nephew Mark La Plante, who made sure that all was well. He was fortunate to have many nieces and nephews.

His brother, Francis Van Eps, died before him.

Calling hours will be on Thursday, Nov. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home, 4898 State Route 81, Greenville. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 4987 State Route 81, Greenville. Interment will follow at the Medusa Cemetery.

Condolences may be posted at ajcunninghamfh.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to either the Salvation Army, 20 South Ferry St., Albany, NY 12202 or to St. John the Baptist Church, Post Office Box 340, Greenville, NY 12083.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer