Thomas Rhea Cushman

1946 - 2020

Boise, Idaho - Thomas Rhea Cushman who passed away quietly Sept. 2, 2020. Son of Attorney A. Richard Cushman and Joann Ganey Cushman (Finlay), born March 12, 1946, in New London.

Reared in New London with five siblings, Nan Scheiber (Jon deceased) of Waterford, Mary Dinsmoor (Andy) of Boulder, Colo., Dr. Austin Cushman (Rose) of Boise, Idaho, Attorney Eugene Cushman (Ebet) of East Lyme, and Kate Cushman of New London. He was proud of his family lineage that he traced directly to the Mayflower, he developed a deep appreciation and love for history.

He loved his wife Gail; his children, Elizabeth Hume (Chris) of Eagle, Idaho and Cole Cushman (Pam) of Nome, Alaska. His love of his grandchildren was endless. Nathanial and Tommy Cushman, Roe and Maggie Hume are his proudest legacy.

His work life always centered around the law with time spent as a judge in Gooding, Idaho. He served in the Idaho legislature, and was a special master for the Snake River Basin Adjudication. He was a Boise County Prosecuting Attorney, and Public Defender in Orofino, Idaho.

His interests spanned a wide spectrum. He loved to cook, read, dance, sing, ski, golf and travel. He dabbled in writing and wrote a book about his Vietnam service. Never one to accept the norms or mediocrity, he custom made his own golf clubs, won dance contests, starred as the lead in Brigadoon, and would race down the hill from skiing to get in a quick nine holes. He insisted on being surrounded with flowers, saying that flowers are the mark of civilization. The love of travel was shared with his lifelong companion and adventurer, Gail, and together they visited all 50 states, 30ish countries, and all 7 continents.

He was particularly proud of his service to his country in the United States Marine Corps, but it was this service that ultimately took his life. If you have a loved one who served in Vietnam, you may understand the power of Agent Orange. That chemical reached her jagged hand through the decades and zapped him.

One of the hardest losses for us and possibly him was his loss of speech. The other component it took was his independence and physical strength, but not his spirit. He was a Marine, through and through, never gave up, moving forward, never regretting the past.

He spent his last days at Idaho State Veterans Home, where he received excellent care. Thank you to the Idaho State Veterans Home, especially, Matt and staff as well as CJ and Keystone Hospice staff.

Tom and Gail were married for 53 years and never looked back.

Semper Fi, Tom…Always faithful, always loved.

His family asks if you wish to honor his memory to do so with: Marine Corps Toys for Tots: https://toysfortots.org/donate/forms/simple/Default.aspx, St. Jude: https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_icid=wtg-lz-donatenow.

A committal service with military honors will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, 10100 N. Horseshoe Bend Road, in Boise, Idaho.

A celebration of life will be scheduled in 2021 after all of the craziness settles down.

To remotely attend the committal service, please visit: https://www.bowmanfuneral.com.