[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING BOB PAVLOVICH

 Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, today I would like to honor the 
life and service of a distinguished Montanan and veterans advocate: Bob 
Pavlovich.
  Bob is a native son of Butte who graduated from Butte High School in 
1947 and enlisted in the Army immediately after. He was deployed in the 
Pacific at the end of World War II as a member of the 18th Engineer 
Construction Company, building facilities as part of atomic bomb 
testing.
  Upon returning home after his service, Bob opened the Met Tavern in 
Butte in 1951, bringing Montanans together for 50 years. He continued 
his public service in the Montana State House which he was first 
elected to in 1978 and where he would serve Butte residents for 20 
years.
  As a Montana legislator, Bob was a fierce advocate for veterans. He 
led legislation in 1993 to build a veterans nursing home in southwest 
Montana, but at the request of a legislator from Glendive, Bob amended 
his legislation to place the veterans nursing home in eastern Montana 
with one request: that they continue working on a veterans home for 
southwest Montana.
  And Bob kept pushing towards his goal for the next 20 years, working 
with veterans and officials like myself to ensure that the project had 
State and Federal funding. Finally, in 2019, the Southwest Montana 
Veterans Home broke ground and officially opened 2 years later. Bob was 
a force leading the decades-long fight to build this home, and it was a 
great privilege of mine to work with him on this project. Through this 
home, his work for southwest Montana veterans will be felt for 
generations to come.
  Today, it is my honor to commemorate Bob's incredible service to our 
country as a veteran, public servant, and steadfast champion for 
veterans. On behalf of myself and a grateful nation, I commend Mr. 
Pavlovich for his lifetime of serving Montana and extend our deepest 
appreciation to him and his family. His exemplary service in the Army 
and career in public service is what makes our country the greatest in 
the world and Montana the Last Best Place. He is a true patriot who has 
made Montana proud, and we owe him a deep debt of gratitude.

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