Freda Long

Freda Long passed peacefully from this life to the next Jan. 22, 2016, at the age of 93. She was born at home in Middleton, Idaho, on Sept. 7, 1922, the second of twins and ninth child of the late Maud and James Leroy Payne.

At the start of WWII and after graduating from Middleton High School, she and two sisters (Ileda and Jessie) traveled to Seattle, Wash., where they went to work for Boeing stringing cables through B-17 Flying Fortresses. They also volunteered at the Information Center of the Seattle Air Defense Wing, where they reported the movements of planes on a filter board.

After the war ended, Freda and her sisters returned home to help their father put a roof on his barn, then Freda went to work in Boise at the First National Bank. Her twin sister worked at the First Security Bank, which thoroughly confused some people who banked at both banks.

In Boise, she met the love of her life, Clair E. "Gene" Long. They married in Middleton on April 3, 1947, and remained married for 65 years.

Gene had a young daughter, so Freda stayed home to care for her. Over the years, three more children appeared. Freda took up running a daycare center in Mountain Home from 1953 until 1961 when she went to work for the Mountain Home Post Office. She retired from the Postal Service in 1983.

She taught Sunday School at the First Baptist Church in Mountain Home until that church merged with another. She was an active member of the I.O.O.F. Rebeccas and volunteered to advise the Theta Rho Girls for many years. She was also a member of the Eastern Stars for several years.

Freda was a doer and seldom idle. She enjoyed sewing and made beautiful quilts, and many of her own clothes. She also crocheted afghans and baby blankets.

She and Gene had a huge garden with fruit trees, so canning and homemade jelly were a delicious benefit. They raised Arabian horses for many years and after retirement drove motorhomes across the country for various dealerships.

They both loved camping, fishing, hiking, boating and taking their kids and grandkids waterskiing and river tubing. They often went on road trips to enjoy the scenery in any season.

Many winters were spent in Arizona and Texas square dancing, round dancing and having fun. In Arizona, Freda took up painting and other crafts which she enjoyed for many years.

Freda is preceded in death by her husband, Gene, son Dale, a great-granddaughter, five sisters and four brothers. She is survived by three daughters, Donna (Al) Van Tuinen, Delores (Lewis) Mittelmark, and Debbie (Keith) Kurtz, one daughter-in-law, Mary (Dale) Long, three granddaughters, six grandsons and seven great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel in Mountain Home, and burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home.