Richard Gayle Kiester

Richard (Dick) Gayle Kiester Nov. 21,1928 - May 14, 2007 Dad was born at home in Bowmont, Idaho. He was the fifth of nine children born to Charles and Ella Kiester. They moved south-west of Marsing by wagon when he was a young lad. They all helped build a two bedroom house (still standing) and worked a small dairy farm. Dad married Diane Cotton in May of 1950. From this union three children were born, Susan, Carla, and Tom. They later divorced and he married Ida Faye Homestead, May 8, 1963. She had a young son Robert Dan, whom Dad reared as his own. Dad worked many jobs during his life. He was a buck-a-roo, worked for the railroad, Dept. of Highways, built a lot of fences and worked on a lot of local farms. His greatest love was working in the trees. He trimmed up some of the tallest around. Dad was an early conservationist. He was always replanting trees and plants in areas that had burned or were eroding from water. We all gained a great respect for the earth and what we should give back from Dad. As we grew up, Dad was always taking us out to his "backyard". This is known as the Owyhee Mountains to most people. We would fish, hunt and collect rocks of all shapes and sizes. We found many Indian artifacts (while legal), petrified wood, seashells, camel and horse teeth and fish fossils. We've panned for gold and looked for that elusive gold vein, whenever we went camping. Dad was always ready to go for a ride and challenge our 4x4's on the oldest and worst roads he could find just so he could see what was on top or over the other side. We've seen wild horse herds, deer beds, 12 foot tall sage brush and ghost towns. We've eaten more mustard sardine sandwiches, spam and watermelons than we want to remember. In short we've had experiences that we'll never forget. Thank you dad for all the songs, laughter and love all these years. Dad is survived by Ida Faye his wife of 44 years, children, Susan Wilder (Bryan), Carla Berg (Del) Tom Kiester (Ellen), Robert Dan Kiester (Merrillee), 16 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, two great great-grandchildren, five sisters and one brother. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, a brother and a son-in-law. There will be a memorial service at the Crossroads Assembly of Gods Church in Wilder on May 19, 2007 at 10:30 a.m., dinner to follow. Cremation was under the direction of Flahiff Funeral Chapel, Caldwell.