M. Michael Sasser

1948 - 2023

M. Michael Sasser

January 2, 1948 - December 20, 2023

Eagle, Idaho - Milton Michael Sasser ("Mike") January 2, 1948–December 20, 2023,

Eagle, Idaho.

Milton Michael Sasser ("Mike"), 75, of Eagle passed away unexpectedly at his home from an undetected health condition on December 20, 2023.

Mike was born on January 2, 1948, in Blackfoot, Idaho to Milton Michaelis Sasser and VeraVirginia Grimaud. Mike was the fourth of five children. As a child, Mike learned the lessons of hard work assisting his parents on their farm in Pingree, Idaho. Farm chores meant Mike and his siblings milked the cows, fed the animals, hauled hay, picked potatoes, and cleared the rocks from the farmland with a morning start time of 5:00 a.m. and then working again after school to complete the evening chores. He participated in 4-H for several years, was student body president at Snake River High School, and was an Idaho Boys State Delegate. Mike also attended a pre-college term for the academic disciplines of English and Debate at Northwestern University in Illinois the summer before his senior year. Recalling his train ride from Idaho to Chicago by himself as a teen, Mike said he loved the beauty of the Mississippi River at dusk, and the opportunity to see the United States up close and personal. Mike also enjoyed playing basketball, earning himself a basketball scholarship to Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.

After his first year of college, Mike hung up his Converse Chuck Taylors and married his high school sweetheart, Deanna McPherson, embarking on an adventure as young newlyweds which found them moving from Pingree, Idaho to the East Coast in July of 1967. While living in Washington D.C., they worked for the FBI with an office located in the Old Post Office in the heart of the District. This symbolic vantage point was something Mike would never forget. Mike also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland. After graduation, Mike and Deanna returned to Idaho for Mike to attend the University of Idaho's College of Law. While in law school, Mike was chosen for the Idaho Law Review.

After law school Mike and Deanna moved to Boise where Mike's legal career began at the Ada County Prosecutor's Office with Dave Leroy as his first boss. Transitioning from the government realm to private practice, Mike worked with Jerry Quane, Fred Kennedy, partnered with Bob Hamlin, and then again with Pat Inglis. As a trial attorney, Mike paid meticulous attention to detail, had a command of the law he was presenting, and the ability to artfully argue his client's position, all while interacting professionally and in a kind manner with court staff. People within the legal community would regularly comment to Mike's family that he was one of the best trial attorneys they had worked with and that he was the consummate professional. All of Mike's children were employed in some capacity at his firm, either as janitors or runners. Spending time with their dad at his office gave them the opportunity to share the ups and downs of their day and allowed them to see him in the capacity as counselor, friend, and advisor to his clients. It also gave them a better understanding of the hard work he put in to provide them with a very fulfilling life. While the bulk of Mike's work was aligned with defending clients, one of his greatest legal moments was working alongside two of his children who are also attorneys, attaining justice for a very deserving plaintiff they represented. This collaboration was a cherished legal and personal experience for Mike. In addition, Mike's pro-bono work for those who had been in accidents, or suffered from harrowing medical diagnoses and needed his brilliant legal mind and stellar work ethic, counted as some of his finest legal hours. Although he never touted his help, those Mike represented never forgot his care. These were the defining moments of a legal great like Mike - when one takes the time to add yet another case to their day, to help those desperately needing a legal win.

During his busy career, Mike served tirelessly within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, while he and Deanna raised their six children. Pulled in several directions, Mike would try his hardest to support his children in their extra-curricular endeavors, while also serving in a bishopric and stake presidencies. With so many responsibilities, Mike's family relished the family vacations they took each year, especially the times they shared on the Oregon Coast. As one can imagine, one of Mike's greatest joys were his 19 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Each of these grandchildren knows how much their grandfather loved them because he told them this each time he saw them, but he also showered them with love in his own unique way.

While Mike's retirement from the law was just short of a year before he passed, his greatest accomplishment in this life was performed over the last several months as he cared for and devoted his retirement to his wife as she continues to bravely battle breast cancer. Mike and Deanna spent their final months together attending a multitude of doctor appointments, chemotherapy, and acupuncture sessions, all with the hope and faith that she will be healed. Because of this, Mike's passing leaves a gaping hole in our hearts, especially after witnessing his tender care for our mother.

Mike is preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Linda, and he is survived by his wife Deanna, his siblings Adrian (Peggy), Ava (Roy), David (Kathy), and his six children Tony (Mindy), Angela (Clark), Audra (Jeff), Ashley (Brent), Adrianne (Will), and Michael (Brooke), his 19 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren, as well as several extended family members and friends.

While we know we will mourn the passing of our cherished husband, father, and grandfather for the rest of our earthly lives, we take comfort in the knowledge that he has been reunited with his mother Vera, who died when he was only 16 years old, and we look forward to the day when we will live together again in the eternities. Families are forever.

Please join us to celebrate the life of Milton Michael Sasser on Friday, December 29, 2023. His viewing will begin that day at 10:00 a.m., followed by his funeral at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at 6375 N. Royal Park Ave., Boise, Idaho 83713. Video conference of the funeral service will also be available. Please also join us at his graveside burial on Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at the Riverside-Thomas Cemetery in Blackfoot, Idaho, located at 939 W. Highway 39, Blackfoot, Idaho 83221.