Thomas Ray "Tom" Guyer M.D.

Thomas Ray Guyer, M.D., 65, of Idaho Falls, died November 7, 2007, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, surrounded by his family.

Tom (or Tommy, as he was often called by his family as a child) was born September 22, 1942, in El Paso, Texas, to George Stanley Guyer and Mildred Virginia High Guyer. He lived for a few years in Texarkana,

Texas, and grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He graduated from Tuscaloosa High School with honors and as a Merit Scholar. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and was a recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship.

Tom graduated from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and then graduated from medical school at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He served his medical residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham. During the Vietnam War, he served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He served his surgical residency in San Francisco, California.

He married Courtney King in Birmingham, Alabama, and they were later divorced. They made their home in Andalusia, Alabama, where he practiced medicine from 1971 to 1976. In 1976, he moved to Idaho Falls, where he continued his medical practice. He married Alice Kaye Hodges on November 4, 1977, in Blackfoot, Idaho. He served as Director of the Emergency Department until 1985, Chief of Staff at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for 1997 and 1998, and later as Medical Director from 2000 until he retired in 2006. He was named Physician of the Year in 2006.

Tom was a husband, son, brother, father, uncle, grandfather and friend. He was a lover of the great outdoors and an avid sportsman. He loved animals great and small, and had a real soft spot in his heart for dogs. He was known for his generosity, his compassion and his humility.

He was a well respected physician, and patients loved his down-to-earth bedside manner. He had a thirst for knowledge and enjoyed reading and learning. He had an infectious sense of humor and enjoyed storytelling with others. He loved a good joke. He was a big dreamer and often took "the road less traveled," or "the scenic route," as he liked to call it. He was also one of the few people we knew who wrestled with an orangutan. "Most of all, he loved the fall."

He was a member of the Baptist Church. He loved the Boy Scouts and donated a cabin to them.

He is survived by his wife, Alice Kaye; children, Jason Guyer, Ashley Guyer (Chris) Gailey, Larson Dean (James) Gafney, Alton (Juliette) Dean, Justin Guyer and Thomas Ray Guyer II; his brothers, Joel (Kathy) Guyer and Don Guyer; and six grandchildren, Greyson Poirier, Jessica Dandurand, Lilyth Biehl, Griffin Gailey, Ava Gailey and Alex Dean. He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Jerry; and two brothers, Michael and Ron.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at Wood Funeral Home, 273 N. Ridge Ave. in Idaho Falls, with Cliff Marsden officiating. The family will visit with friends from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Saturday before services at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in his honor may be made to the following organizations, which he supported: The Bonneville Humane Society, P.O. Box 2763, Idaho Falls, ID 83403; The American Cancer Society, 2676 Vista Avenue, Boise, ID 83705; or the Boy Scouts of America, Grand Teton Council, 574 4th Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83401.

Condolences may be sent to the family online at www

.woodfuneralhome.com.

Family Tribute