James LaBarre

Visitation for James R. "Jim" LaBarre, 60, of Manteno, will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Manteno. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Julie Freese will officiate. Memorials may be made to the Gettysburg Foundation. He died Monday (Sept. 5, 2011) at Provena St. Mary's Hospital, Kankakee. Mr. LaBarre was a retired veteran of the Matteson Police Department after 23 years, and four years prior he worked for the Chicago Heights Police Department. He was currently with School District 162 as a paraprofessional for 10 years with the Huth Middle School. He served as a street officer, D.A.R.E. officer and community officer for School Districts 162 and 159. He was born Aug. 18, 1951, in Chicago, the son of Robert and LoisRee Ferreira LaBarre. He attended Prairie State College and graduated from the Chicago Police Academy and the Illinois Police D.A.R.E. Academy. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1972, serving with the 23rd MPC and 196th Infantry Brigade, 23rd American Division. He was a member of the VFW Post 311 in Richton Park and past vice commander at the Manteno American Legion Post 755, and a member of the color guard and honor guard. He was a historian and antiques collector of the Civil War. He was a member of the Manteno Historical Society, the South Suburban Civil War Round Table and The Gettysburg Foundation Preservation. He held a third degree black belt in karate. He was the ultimate family man who loved doing anything family related and loved his basset hound, Ulysses S. Grant. His wife and sons were always his priority, and he was loyal and moral and always committed to his beliefs. Surviving are his wife, the former Michelle McGuire, of Manteno, whom he married July 2, 1970, in Park Forest; two sons and daughters-in-law, Jason and Paula LaBarre, of Kankakee, and Steven and Becky LaBarre, of Manteno; and one sister and brother-in-law, Carol Ann and the Rev. Dale Sonier, of Glendale, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his parents and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Martin and Alice McGuire. Memorials can be made to Gettysburg Foundation - www.gettysburgfoundation.org/

James LaBarre

August 18, 1951 - September 5, 2011