John Austin Larick

1922 - 2014

On a bright sunny day, under a blue Montana sky, God called one of his dear soldiers home. John Austin Larick passed away Jan. 17, 2014, at his daughter's home in Three Forks, Mont. John took his final breath with loved ones around him on a day that he had proclaimed as a "beautiful day." John was born on Jan. 26, 1922, in Bingham Canyon, Utah, to Austin Charles and Myra Bierdneau Larick. He joined older sister, Isabelle, and spent his young life exploring the hills around Bingham Canyon, which he dearly loved. As a young teen, life offered John the opportunity to spend summers in Southern Utah with family friend Doc Inglesbey, enjoying the rugged beauty that surrounded him. He made many dear friends and formed lasting memories of his adventures in those red rock canyons. John was a member of the Boy Scouts, and the summer that he was 14, he earned the privilege of attending the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington, D.C. He shared many stories about the great trip that he had that summer, riding by train with all the other young Scouts from all 50 states. On this trip, young John visited many historical places that he had read about in Boston, New York, and of course Washington D.C. Two nights before his passing, he was telling his great-grandson about visiting the Lincoln Memorial and how as he stood gazing at the great Abraham Lincoln, a shaft of light from the setting sun lit up the statue as if it were alive. At the family reunion in Kilgore this past summer, sitting under a tree in the mountains, John recited the Gettysburg Address from memory for his kids and grandkids. Words he learned so long ago but still held dear in his heart. John said he would never forget the people that he met on that trip, the places that he saw, camping in the huge circle every night with young men from all over the United States, and how fortunate he was to have the experience.
John graduated from Copperton High School in 1941 and attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah until December of 1942, when Pearl Harbor was bombed and he felt the call to serve the country that he loved. John served in the Pacific Theater in the U.S. Navy as a master ship-fitter. Most of his time was spent in Pearl Harbor and on Midway Island working as a deep-sea underwater welder, repairing and modifying submarines. John also served on the USS Litchfield as a gunner. He made lifelong friends with the young men that he served with and enjoyed reunions with them for several years after his retirement. Out of the seven young sailors that stayed in touch, John was the last to say goodbye to this good old earth. John was proud of the service that he gave to his country and proud to be counted among the surviving veterans of World War II.
When John was attending Utah State, he returned to Bingham for a visit and met a pretty little red haired girl named Bettie Joy Barney. He said it was love at first sight! He and Bettie dated while he attended college and when he finished basic training in Bremerton, Wash., he sent her a telegraph asking her to be his wife. Seventeen-year-old Bettie boarded a train in Salt Lake City, Utah and met John in Washington. They were united in marriage on March 3, 1943, in the naval chapel in Bremerton with 40 sailors as their witnesses. Shortly thereafter, John was sent to San Francisco, Calif., to await orders to ship out. His dear Bettie followed him, and they lived in a little one-room apartment for three months, when he received his orders that he was shipping out. The guard at the gate of the base allowed them to sit together for a half-an-hour before he left. It was nearly two years before the end of the war, and John returned to Utah to greet his bride and precious daughter, Joan, who greeted him with "Hi Daddy."
After a short stay in Bingham Canyon and working for the copper mine, John and Bettie ventured north to Idaho where Bettie had family. She often talked of this beautiful place that she swore was "Heaven on Earth," known as Kilgore. From the time John laid eyes on that mountain meadow, he knew he was meant to be there. After a year or two and the birth of oldest son Johnny, John and Bettie purchased a small ranch close to Bettie's parents on Miracle Mile. Their days were filled with hard work, little money, few conveniences and long days. But, they lived in a place that they loved dearly and they made do without feeling deprived. Seven years after Johnny was born, Monte joined the family and they were so thrilled! Life in Kilgore was good and John cherished the people that were part of Kilgore then. "Good guys" like Glen Stoddard, Dave Hagenbarth, Clark Swanstrom, Hugh Jensen, Ken Bennett, Keith Siepert, Loren McGarry, the Hillman boys, Joe Knotwell, the Frederikson boys, the Vadnais boys….the list is endless, but John had stories about so many of them and how they pulled together to get their work done. Two years after Monte arrived, God surprised John and Bettie with their beautiful little Kathy and five years after that their "caboose" Jerri. Their family was complete.
John started working seasonally for the U.S. Forest Service one summer building fence, clearing trails, and putting in water troughs with good pal Hugh Jensen. The job eventually became a full-time position and he retired in 1986 after 36 years. He loved his job, loved the forests that he worked in, the many people he worked with, and being in "God's Country" every day. It is rumored that John knew every trail, ridge, gulch, rock, old mine site, sawmill site and maybe even the wildlife in his mountains.
John was a cowboy at heart, and loved watching his fat cows grazing on belly high grass. He loved all animals and they loved him in return. When he reached the gates of heaven, there must have been a stampede of critters that had been awaiting his arrival! John took great pride in watching both of his sons perform in rodeos. One of his favorite memories was attending the bronc riding match in Wolf Point, Mont., to watch son, Johnny, win first place. John cheered on young John's Hartnell rodeo team and later MSU rodeo team at the Intercollegiate National Finals Rodeo held in Bozeman, Mont., every year. He worked with younger son, Monte, in California, during the winters after his retirement. John and Bettie made great memories with new friends in the Salinas area and loved the time they spent with Monte's family. In the last month of John's life, he spoke of how proud he was of his kids and grandkids and what a lucky man he was to have such a good family.
Bettie passed away in 1994 and John stayed in Kilgore as the only year-round resident for several years. During this time, he became active in the Dubois Community Church and enjoyed getting together for lunch every Sunday after church. John was blessed with the best friends a man could ever make, in Betty Kirkpatrick, Sandy McClure, Bonnie Stoddard and Eileen Bennett. These "girls" took special care of John and enabled him to stay in the place that he loved for far longer than his kids thought he would be able to. The last year of John's life, Jana joined the ranks of people that helped him, when everyday things began to get tough. All of these dear ladies held a special place in his heart, as they do in his family's hearts. There are so many good folks in Clark County that showed kindness to John and enriched the quality of his life with their genuine good heartedness. John was able to move to Dubois during the winter and eventually full time, thanks to Bruce Laird and family. "That Bruce is a good egg … you tell him that for me, Jerr."
John Kidd worked with John on the forest service and he became like a third son. John Kidd could always be counted on to help John out and he appreciated the time that John took to spend with him.
In heaven, John joins his parents, his older sister, his wild Irish rose, Bettie; daughter-in-law, Pat; parents-in-law, Art and Hannah Barney; sister-in-law, Jayne, and many wonderful friends. He leaves behind sister-in-law, Patricia (Revo) Williams; brother-in-law, Clyde (Rita) Barney; daughter, Joan (Howard) Goodenough; Johnny, Monte (Sandy), Kathy (Brad) Wallin and Jerri (Ray) Shively. He is the proud grandpa of 17 grandkids, 28 great-grandkids, and one great-great-granddaughter. John was very pleased that seven of his grandsons or great-grandsons shared one of his names and he was able to know and love a great-granddaughter named after his dear mom.
John was a good guy, a hard worker, honest as the day is long, funny and soft-hearted when it came to animals or kids. He loved a strong cup of coffee, anything chocolate, blue pickups, pine trees, rodeos, a good history book, an old cowboy song, the American flag, Kilgore, and the people that made life worth living. His feet walked a million miles up and down mountains, his hands planted a million fence posts, and those blue eyes saw enough of Gods natural beauty to sustain us all for a long time to come.
A celebration of John's life will be held in Dubois, Idaho at the Clark County Community Building on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, at 11 a.m., with burial following in the Kilgore Cemetery. There will be a viewing prior to the service at 10 a.m. in the Community Center. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to The ALS Association (www.alsa.org); The Montel Williams MS Foundation (331 West 57th Street, PMB, New York, NY 10019); or The Dubois Community Baptist Church, Dubois, Idaho.
When you see a lonely, stray dog or cat, pick them up, take them home and make them a part of your family, I'm sure he'll be smiling in heaven.