Warren “Royce” Cappis, long-time resident of Fort Benton, MT and recently Great Falls, MT passed away on May 19, 2024, at the age of 84 and 11months, at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls. He fought a very brief pneumonia brought on by the Covid virus.
You may have known him as your high school Math teacher in Fort Benton where he taught for 27 years. He may have been your Longhorn Football coach as he was the score keeper and then a fixture on the hill as a spectator. He loved the Denver Broncos, and Montana Grizzly and MSU Bobcat games in the stadiums alongside his kids. He was a sports fan and loved to keep the stats as he watched, especially if his grandkids were participating.
You may have had him prepare your taxes for years at “Royce Tax Service” in his home office. You may have known him as “Santa” but if you really knew him, he was “ROYCE,” a man who loved to laugh and make others laugh more!
Royce was born in Pueblo, Colorado to Marjorie and Granville Cappis on June 18, 1939. Royce attended Centennial High School, in Pueblo where he met his sweetheart, Pamela Milyard. After graduation in 1957, he attended Pueblo College earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1960. When Pam finished her nursing degree from the University of Colorado, they got married and headed to Great Falls, MT.
Pam took a position as a public health nurse for Cascade County. Royce was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base and attended the College of Great Falls earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967. Royce pursued a teaching career that began in Inverness, MT in 1967. He moved his family in 1969 and began his long happy life along the Missouri River in Fort Benton. Royce lost his beloved wife, Pam, to cancer in 2006.
Royce was a hardworking man and worked many jobs to support his family. He was a pinsetter at Benton Lanes, with summers spent changing tires at the gas station or spraying weeds for the county. At FBHS, he started an investment club for students and was the founding member of the FBEA Scholarship - a fund still active and growing today, supporting students pursuing higher education. Royce was an active member of the Teacher’s Union on many levels for his entire career.
Royce moved to Great Falls, in 2021 to be closer to his kids. He found great joy at the assisted living facility where he lived, doing puzzles, running the pinochle tables, and making many new friends.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
