Rheabell Fenton , 85

Rheabell Hamblin Fenton, 85, of Boise, formerly of Mountain Home, died Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005, at Valley View Care Center in Boise.

Funeral services were held Saturday, Sept. 10, at Summers Funeral Home, Boise. Graveside inurnment services were held Monday, Sept. 12, at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home. A luncheon followed the graveside services at the American Legion Hall in Mountain Home.

Rheabell was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on Jan. 19, 1920, the daughter of Hazel Alcock and Glenn Hamblin.

She was a 1938 graduate of East Waterloo High School and married Thomas Fenton of Waterloo in 1943. They spent the next 15 years traveling with the U.S. Air Force, with duty stations in North Carolina, Hawaii, Japan, Texas, and Morocco, before settling in Mountain Home in 1958.

In 1976, Rheabell moved to Boise and spent her remaining years near her two daughters, Fayonne and Penny, but could never turn down an opportunity for travel, visiting Thailand, Scotland, and Italy in her later years. In 1999, she returned to Waterloo with her son, Bill, for the 61-year reunion of her high school graduating class.

Rheabell was a dedicated supporter of the American Legion Auxiliary for more than four decades in Mountain Home and Boise. She held offices of president, treasurer, historian and vice-president for membership and was particularly active in promoting the Auxiliary's Girls State program.

She is survived by: her daughters, Fayonne Alfaro and Penny Fenton of Boise; son William Fenton of Alexandria, Va.; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Gladys Fae Lighthart of San Antonio, Texas; a granddaughter, Whitney Pancoast, and her husband of 32 years, Thomas Fenton.

Although Rheabell and Thomas had divorced they had remained good friends, her family noted.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 26, P.O. Box 512, Mountain Home, Idaho 83647 earmarked "Girls State Fund."