Bud Riddle, 83

Maurice Allen "Bud" Riddle, 83, of Mountain Home, died Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007, at a local nursing home.

Funeral Services were held Friday, Feb. 16, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel, with burial following at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home. Arrangements were under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel in Mountain Home.

Born on April 23, 1923, in Mountain Home to Earl Prescott Riddle and Betha Marie Crabb Riddle, an Idaho pioneer ranching family, Bud was reared on the ranch at Riddle, Idaho, in Owyhee County. He spent his early years helping his parents on the ranch, learning the cattle business, and acquiring the solid work ethics that he would carry with him throughout his life.

In 1941, he graduated from Mountain Home High School, where he enjoyed playing football, boxing and tennis. Upon graduation, he attended Boise Junior College, until he and a group of college friends decided to go to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., where he was a sheet metal worker for the war effort.

It was in Washington that he met his future wife, Vyonda Rice, who it turned out was an Idaho girl, and whose family had also gone to the Puget Sound area to help in the war effort. They married Dec. 25, 1942, in Seattle. Their first daughter, Toni, was born while they lived in Bremerton.

In March 1944 Bud joined the Navy and was sent to boot camp at Farragut in northern Idaho and to the University of Idaho to attend further classes. Later stationed at Bainbridge Island, Wash., he trained as a Japanese Code Copier, a highly elite and specialized group of which he was very proud. He served in the Pacific Theatre in both Hawaii and Guam.

After discharge from the Navy, Bud and Vyonda returned to Riddle to help run the family cattle ranch. They worked on their ranch house and their family grew with the birth of three more daughters, Lynn, Susan and Marcy.

"We spent wonderful times together working cattle with dad, bouncing around the ranch in the old, red pickup, going to rodeos at Duck Valley, and shooting sage hens for a delicious dinner cooked by mom," they said.

After the ranch was sold in 1965, Bud pursued different business ventures, most notably and with much pride the 22 years he was a Farm Bureau Insurance Special Agent, from which he retired in 1999. "It seemed dad never met a stranger, and he was always so genuinely interested in helping others. During this same time, he also served tirelessly and honestly as Elmore County Commissioner for 28 years, another proud accomplishment," his family noted.

Bud and Vyonda had a "wonderful group of close friends who enriched their lives" and enjoyed many trips and social events with them throughout the years.

Bud was a member of both the Masons and Shriners and was one of the charter members of the Elks Lodge in Mountain Home.

He was active in the Idaho Cattlemen's Association, and one of the highlights of his lifetime was attending the National Cattlemen's Association Convention in Hawaii, revisiting some of the places where he was stationed during the war.

"Dad was kind, gentle, loving, always whistling, wearing a big smile and making everyone feel good and important," his family said. "Dad loved to play golf, but probably more than that he loved to go to Jackpot as a special guest of Cactus Pete's where they spoiled him and treated him like a king. We took a lot of family trips, Disneyland, Canada, the coast, but the best ones were when the family all went to Jackpot together."

Bud is survived by: Vyonda, his wife of 64 years; his daughters, Toni Becklund of Mountain Home, Susan Riddle of Boise, and Marcy and her husband, Dick Crockett, of Grand View; ten grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, V. Lynn Riddle, and his brother and sister in-law, Edward and Virginia Riddle.

The family suggests memorials to a favorite charity.