John Pilgrim Jr.

John E. Pilgrim Jr., 70, of Glenns Ferry passed away at a local hospital on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

A celebration of John's life will be held at Faith Lutheran Church on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Cremation was under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel.

John was born on May 1, 1941, in Stonewall, Miss. The son of John E. Pilgrim Sr. and Bertie Mae (Sanders) Pilgrim, he graduated from Stonewall High School in 1960 and married Mary Florence Mathis on Aug. 7, 1960, in Quitman, Miss.

John's biggest desire growing up in Mississippi was to get to the north near the mountains. So in May of 1962, he, with his wife and baby daughter headed to Wyoming.

He was an avid fisherman in the summer and an avid hunter in the winter. He supported his growing family as a long haul truck driver, tree trimmer, building highways, office machine repairman (graduated from BSU for this trade) and was an apartment complex manager with his wife. He was even an ice cream truck driver for a time.

John will be greatly missed by all, and we look forward to the day we will be able to see him again in Heaven.

John is survived by his wife, Mary, his children, Norma and her husband Felix Haro of Nampa; Vickie and her husband Dave Butterfield of Mountain Home; Joseph Pilgrim of Glenns Ferry; David and his wife Kari Pilgrim of Mountain Home; Julie Pilgrim of Glenns Ferry; as well as his sister Sybil Manzanzares of Oklahoma along with 25 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and one great-grandson.