POCATELLO — Diane LaBarge was a high school senior working as a counselor at a Salvation Army summer camp in Arizona when she had her first in-depth conversation with her future husband.
Ben LaBarge — a counselor whose father was caretaker of the camp — was lanky, had goofy hair and wore baggy pants before they were in style. He brought Diane, who was tasked at that moment with making sure campers didn’t swing on the rope bridge, a Sprite and a bag of M&Ms when he arrived to keep her company.
Ben LaBarge, a man remembered for his dedication to community service and aiding the downtrodden, died on Sunday of cancer. He was 62.
In Pocatello, Ben LaBarge’s name is inextricably linked with the Salvation Army, which is a Christian church and an international charitable organization.
Both Ben and Diane LaBarge devoted their careers to furthering the Salvation Army’s mission.
They were married in 1978 and entered the organization’s training school together two years later. In 1982, they both graduated and were commissioned — the organization’s equivalent of being ordained. They earned the rank of major while in Pocatello, where they helped to improve the organization’s reputation, as well as the services it offers.
“The Salvation Army’s motto for years was, ‘Heart to God, Hand to Man.’ That just exemplified Ben,” Diane said. “His heart was totally into helping improve people’s lives.”
The couple took their first jobs with Salvation Army in Fairbanks, Alaska. Diane recalled the winters were so cold that the windshield of Ben’s truck would frost completely over while he parked his truck briefly to pick up bread. Ben, a lover of a all types of food, amazed her with his ability to scrape the frost from the glass with a frozen doughnut.
They were appointed next to Petersburg, Alaska, where Ben was fond of taking guests to the local dump to watch the bears feed on the garbage. They also accepted appointments in Watsonville, California, Vallejo, California, and Klamath Falls, Oregon, before arriving in Pocatello in 1995.
Pocatello became home. They devoted themselves to improving their organization’s financial situation and local services.
Through serving others, Ben believed he could extend God’s love, Diane explained. Ben grew especially fond of visiting area nursing homes and the local jail to conduct religious services. Everybody seemed to know his name.
“He treated everyone like best friends,” Diane said. “It didn’t matter what walk of life they were — if they were the governor or an alcoholic on the street.”
Local Realtor Jim Johnston, who shared a commitment to community service with the LaBarges, became Ben’s close friend. Johnston’s wife, Karen, served on the Salvation Army board of directors. Johnston sold the LaBarge’s their home, and he’s sold property both to and for the Salvation Army.
“I think he is as good of an example of unselfish service as anyone I’ve ever met,” Johnston said.
Johnston recruited Ben to join his Rotary club. In turn, Ben got several Rotarians to ring bells and man kettles for Salvation Army’s annual Christmas season fundraiser.
“The Salvation Army takes care of an element of the population that nobody else takes care of and I admired that,” Johnston said.
In 2007, following a previous bout Ben had with cancer, the LaBarges moved to Medford, Oregon, where Ben worked as an assistant to lighten his workload. They later moved to Happy Valley, Oregon, for a couple of years, before Ben took a job for three years at an adult rehabilitation center in Oakland, California.
Upon Ben’s retirement from the center, they returned to Pocatello in 2011 to be near their children and grandchildren. Ben worked briefly in a school cafeteria for Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 — he jokingly referred to himself as a lunch lady. For about a year, he ran his own moving business, serving people making in-town moves.
In 2013, he became manager of the Habitat for Humanity Restore, which has moved a few times and is now located in Pocatello at 345 S. Second Ave. He left the Restore about two years ago.
His final job was also one of his favorites. He obtained a commercial driver’s license and started driving a school bus at the start of the 2020 school year for the Head Start program at the Lincoln Early Childhood Center.
Ben also worked as a Head Start classroom helper, where he enjoyed leading story time and making children laugh. Ben went on sick leave in November and ultimately submitted his notice.
“He didn’t work there very long but they loved him there,” Diane said. “I always called it the perfect grandpa job.”
After returning to Pocatello, Ben also renewed his commitment to conducting local ministry on behalf of the Salvation Army, explained Lt. Ernie Evans, who currently heads the local Salvation Army with his wife, Sara. Evans credits LaBarge with making a difference in the organization both locally and at all of the other communities in which he’s served.
“It’s been a blessing to walk into something he had really attempted to pour his heart back into these past few years,” Evans said.
Ben LaBarge is survived by his wife, grandchildren, and children Wendy, Michael and Joseph.
His funeral service will be 1 p.m. Sunday at the Rock Foursquare Church, 740 W. Center St.