Lois Juanita Klingler

BURLEY – Surrounded by her family, Lois Juanita Klingler, 81, peacefully passed away in her Burley home on May 8, 2019.

Juanita, or Nita as her friends called her, was born on January 23, 1938, in the small rural town of West Point, Ga., to Clarence and Rebecca Brock. In 1955, Nita met and married Dale Klingler, who had just finished serving in the United States Army at nearby Fort Benning, Ga. They then moved to Minidoka where they started an extensive farming and ranching operation in 1956.

While raising her four daughters, Nita was extra busy volunteering with the Pink Ladies and working as part-time activities coordinator in the geriatrics wing of Minidoka Memorial Hospital.

After her daughters were grown, Nita received her GED, served as Relief Society president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received a Certified Nursing Assistant license.

For a short time, Dale and Nita lived in San Diego, Calif., until Dale passed away in 1998. She then bought a second home in St. George, Utah, and divided her time between there and her home in Idaho. She also traveled extensively. Some of her trips included genealogy research in Alabama, Georgia, and Colorado, an excursion with her daughter’s family to New York, and international travel to Italy, Switzerland, England and Paris with friends and family.

Nita loved spending time with her growing family. She enjoyed hosting reunions for her children and grandchildren in fun places like Mission Beach, Calif., Las Vegas, Nev., and St. George, Utah.

In her later years, Nita enjoyed spending time on the deck of her home which overlooked the Snake River. She began doing creative writing and was never alone, having several cats and a faithful dog. In addition, she was constantly surrounded by grandchildren and great- grandchildren.

She is survived by a brother, Ronald Brock of Louisville, Ky.; her four daughters, Angela (Dr. Kenneth) Turner of Burley, Kellene (Jonathan) Giloff of Laguna Niguel, Calif., Becky (Todd) Whitehead of Burley, and Lisa Peña of Rupert; 14 grandchildren; and 27 great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Unity First Ward, 275 S. 250 E., of Burley, with Bishop Walter M. Graham conducting. Burial will be in Rupert Cemetery.

Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and at the church on Saturday, from 10 until 10:45 a.m.