Bret R. Severe

1960 - 2022

Bret R. Severe

April 19, 1960 - February 8, 2022

Bret R. Severe, 61, loving father, son, brother, new grandfather and beloved friend to so many, passed away on February 8, 2022 peacefully, surrounded by his family.

He was born April 19, 1960, in Burley, Idaho, the son of Ruth Tilley Zepeda & Adam Zepeda. Ruth later married Bret's stepfather, Dean Winnett, who Bret considered his father. He lived nearly his entire life in Burley and grew up enjoying motorbiking, fishing, and hunting. He received all of his schooling in Burley and graduated from Burley High School in 1978.

In 1984, Bret married Jill Kruse. He and Jill were married for five years, and they had his only daughter together in 1987, Cambry Lain Severe.

He started a job with Feed Service when he was 18 years old. Feed Service eventually evolved into PureGro, then Crop Production Services, followed by Western Farm Service, and finally Nutrien Ag Solutions. He was a Crop Adviser with Nutrien for 42 years until his eventual retirement in 2020. He was an accomplished, well-respected agronomist and was described by his work family as an 'innovator who always sought to make things better and think outside the box.' During his time at Nutrien, he was one of the first pioneers to begin using variable rate technology for fertilizing crops and would light up when talking about his work. He truly loved what he did, and he was very good at it.

He lived a full life and enjoyed many hobbies over the years, including skiing and being on the Pomerelle Ski Patrol, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, camping, shooting trap and playing golf. He was an accomplished trap shooter and an excellent bass fisherman, successfully competing in both sports. One thing was for sure - when Bret found a hobby that he enjoyed, he went "all in."

He valued hard work and was very strong-willed. He was stubborn in his ways and was rarely afraid to speak his mind, however Bret was an incredibly caring man. He was always willing to help his friends and family when they were in need and never wanted to be recognized for it. He was a tough man to make laugh, but when you did, it was so rewarding.

He is survived by his daughter Cambry (Sean) Leahy and one granddaughter Evelyn Leahy all of Wilsonville, Oregon; his mother, Ruth Winnett of Weiser, Idaho, two sisters; Rhonda (Kip) Forsdick & Tammy (Larry) Lee all of Weiser, Idaho & one brother; Cory (Amber) Winnett of Paul, Idaho; two cousins Alana Tilley of Springville, Utah and Megan Tilley of Sydney, Australia as well as many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his stepfather, Dean Winnett, and brother, Dirk Severe.

Bret was truly one of a kind and will be missed greatly.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Morrison Funeral Home (188 S Hwy 24 Rupert, Idaho 83350). A live webcast of the service will be available at www.morrisonfuneralhome.net. Following the service, friends and family are invited to a celebration of Bret's life to gather and share stories at Morey's Steakhouse (219 E 3rd St. N Burley, Idaho 83318) from 2:00 - 5:00 PM.