Mabel DeForest, 92

Mabel Ella (Strickland) DeForest, 92, died Sept. 17, 2005, in a care facility in Mountain Home.

Funeral Services were held Sept. 23 at the Bruneau American Legion Hall with burial following at the Bruneau Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, Mountain Home.

She was born July 26, 1913, in a farmhouse at Hot Springs, Idaho, to William and Lena Strickland.

She attended grade school in a one-room school house at Hot Springs, by either walking, riding a horse or sometimes going in a one-horse buggy. She graduated from Bruneau High School in May 1931, in a class of three.

She married Norvall Dean Button in Mountain Home on May 12, 1932. They had been married 49 years, when he died. During their marriage they traveled extensively throughout the western states, while he worked in construction.

They owned and operated two restaurants in Bruneau.

Due to Dean's sister's death, Paul and David Jones were raised by Dean and Mabel.

Mabel and Dean later adopted a son, Tommy Dean Button.

She married Roy DeForest and they lived 15 years together.

Mabel enjoyed cooking, sewing, gardening, fishing, and playing cards.

"Her home was always a haven for those in need of a helping hand, offering food, shelter, money and words of encouragement," her family said.

She published a book, "Golden Heritage, Memories of the Strickland Family" in 1993. She enjoyed writing poetry about all facets of life.

She worked in several grocery stores in Mountain Home and Bruneau over the years.

She is survived by: her son, Tommy, and his wife, Berri Button, of Mountain Home; three sisters, Marjorie and Gus Vitale of Elko, Nev., Fern Graham of Bruneau, and Leona Albert of Redmond, Ore.; a sister-in-law, Jodie Strickland, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by two husbands, a brother, and a son.

Memorials may be made to the Bruneau Community Church, c/o Steve Landis, or the Bruneau Quick Response Unit or the Bruneau Boosters.