Lariat Rope

Lariat Irving Rope, 55, of Phoenix, passed away November 8, 2017. Lariat was born June 10, 1962 in San Carlos, AZ to Rosie & Evan Rope Sr. He attended Fort Thomas until his Junior year he then transferred to Sherman Indian High School for 1 year, but graduated with the Class of 1981 from Fort Thomas High School. After graduating he enlisted into the Army, where he was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. After that, he served in Fort Lewis, Washington; Germany, and South Korea, all within three years. He married his high school sweetheart Debra J. Wesley in May 29, 1982. His best man was Paul Williams Sr. They've been married for 35 years. In 1984, they moved to Fort Huachuca for 4 years. Within that time, they had their first son Andre on July 11, 1985. He was discharged in 1989, from Fort Huachuca. Lariat received many awards such as Army service ribbon, good conduct medal, overseas service ribbon, NCO professional development ribbon, Army lapel button, (m-16) rifle sharp shooter, Army commendation medal, Army achievement medal and a mechanic's badge. After lariat was discharged from the Army, they moved to Phoenix, Arizona. There they had their 2nd son Ervin on December 17, 1998. Lariat landed a job with the SAPA Extrusions for 20 plus years until deceased. Lariat was a caring & kindhearted person. It became a family tradition that they started vacations when Andre was born. He traveled with his family to numerous places such as California, the Grand Canyon, Mexico, Las Vegas & many more other places. There were times he took his nieces & nephews along with them. One trip he was looking forward to going was Seattle, WA. The last little family trip they had together was back in July to Pinetop-Lakeside, where they spent the weekend in the cabins. He took along Debra & their grandson Deondre, as usual they enjoyed their time away. He was a man who loved different variety of music, the 80's, reggae, gospel, and chicken scratch. His favorite band was Stick Figure, of course. He loved to dance, no matter what kind of song it was, he had a different move for every song. Every time he would come back to Bylas, we would have cookouts. He always made sure he was the one to be grilling. We all loved the steaks that he grilled. Out of all of the different types of foods, his favorite was potatoes mixed with chili beans and tortillas and of course, he had to have it with his diet coke. He always made sure we all had a good time. His favorite team was the Arizona Wildcats. He had different types of U of A collections such as t-shirts, jackets and many more other things. Every time he had a chance he would go to the McKale Center, and trust me, he would go crazy. Lariat was a man full of laughter, fun and jokes but also, wasn't the type to sugar coat things. Which was sometimes scary. He also, always made sure to go check on his parents. He'd take them places to eat out or just to get them out of Bylas for the day. Lariat loved his parents so much. Family time was important to him. Lariat had many different nicknames; Low Rider, Fatts, Cherry bomb, Pops, LR and many others. These nicknames were given to him by his family and friends. He spent most of his time with his family in Phoenix with his two kids Andre and Ervin, daughter in law Tiffany and his only grandson, Deondre. Andre was known as his best friend as they rode back and forth from home to work every day. Ervin was his baby, loved to spoil him with anything and everything. He loved Deondre so much and loved to spoil him with a lot of toys and all different types of things. He always made sure they had a family day together when they all had their days off. That's the type of guy Lariat was, didn't worry much of himself but more for others. I believe that that's what everybody will miss, his personality, his calls/texts and his random visits. But as we all know, he is now in a better place. The surviving he leaves behind, his wife Debra W. Rope of 35 years, 2 sons Ervin and Andre Rope, and 1 grandson Deondre Rope. His parents Rosie and Evan Rope Sr., sisters, Rose Rope, Evelyn Rope, Carrie Smithson, Melvalena Kitcheyan. brothers, Dave Rope, Evan Rope Jr., and Johnny Rope. His mother in law Norma Pike. With many more nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a son and daughter. A Wake will be held on Friday, November 17, 2017 beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the 2nd Miracle Church in Bylas, Arizona. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at the Ernest Stanley Memorial Hall also in Bylas with interment in the Bylas Veteran's Cemetery. On behalf of my aunt Debra, I would like to thank everyone that assisted us with the donation of monetary, groceries, labor, etc... and for just being with us in this difficult time. Please, continue to pray for my aunt and her three boys. One last quote as he would always say "BEARDOWN".