Barbara Jean Warren Priest

BURLEY - Barbara Jean Warren Priest, 80, of Burley, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on Sunday, April 12, 2015, at Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello. She was only five days away from her 81st birthday.

She was born April 17, 1934, in View, Idaho, the second child and first daughter of Charles Douglas and Alta Virginia (Mooso) Warren. When she was one-year-old, she moved with her parents and brother, Ray, to Winters, Calif., where her sister, Geraldine, was born. Mom enjoyed living in California. When she was six, the family moved back to Declo, Idaho, where she and her siblings lived with their grandparents, Walter and Nellie Mooso, on their farm. She attended school in Declo until the ninth grade. She then moved to Burley and attended school there. At the age of 16, while working at a local diner, she met the love of her life, Thomas Gene Priest, whom she later married on Jan. 5, 1951. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2001. To this union was born two boys and two girls, Thomas Warren, Roger Kirk, Kerry and Cindy.

Mom spent her married life in the Stars Ferry area of Burley, Idaho. She worked as a cook at Dworshak Elementary and Burley High School. Later, she worked as a secretary for Ore-Ida Foods and the Employment Office. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated her visiting teachers and home teachers throughout the years. Mom enjoyed painting, sewing, cooking, flowers, and traveling to various places in the Pacific Northwest. She especially enjoyed the mountain scenery, and her favorite vacation destination was the Oregon Coast. She was fascinated by the lighthouses there. She loved her family and was always interested in what they were doing. She was so proud of their accomplishments.

Mom struggled for the past few years with various health challenges. She was lovingly cared for by her husband, Gene.

We would like to express sincere appreciation to the staff at Cassia Regional Medical Center and Portneuf Medical Center for the care they gave Mom.

She is survived by her husband, Gene; her children, Tom Priest and Kirk (LaNae) Priest both of Burley, Kerry (Rick) Booth of Ephrata, Wash., and Cindy (Ted) Bodily of Burley; 12 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; her brother, Ray (Shirley) Warren of Burley; her sister, Geraldine (Pete) O’Connor of San Andreas, Calif.; her sisters-in-law, Grace Davis and Bertha (Homer) Giles both of Burley, and JoyLynn (John) Daughtry of Salmon. She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; and a brother-in-law, John Priest.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 17, at Rasmussen Funeral Home,1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, where friends and family may call from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. Burial will be in Gem Memorial Gardens.