Norman Dee Ashby

HEYBURN – Norman Dee Ashby, longtime Heyburn resident, slipped the bonds of earth life on Tues. morning, Mar. 8, 2016, at the age of 75, following a lingering illness.

Norman was the oldest of three children of Don Edmond and Stella Judd Ashby. He was born in Rupert, Idaho on July 13, 1940.

With the exception of one year in the Salt Lake area as a boy, Norman lived his entire life in Burley or Heyburn; the last 55 years in the home he helped to build for his new bride, Joan Bailey, whom he married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple, on Dec. 8, 1960. He graduated from Burley High School after attending school in Heyburn, Salt Lake City, and Minico High School.

Norman retired from employment with the City of Burley Electrical Dept., on Dec. 31, 2003, after 43 years and 4 months service. He began as an apprentice lineman on Sept. 1, 1960, and retired as the meter man. In addition to his earnings from regular employment, Norman supported his wife and the three children born to them by moonlighting as a truck driver, a commercial sprayer, and both breeding and killing mink for local mink rancher and lifelong friend, Lee Moyle.

Norman developed a passion for reading in his later adult years but refused to read any fiction. He particularly loved war stories and this love of things military was also reflected in the collection of model airplanes he assembled. Norman took his fill of fiction not from the printed word but from movies.

Norman also enjoyed traveling and the outdoors. He enjoyed snowmobiling with friends. He introduced several of his grandchildren to camping, during which they always enjoyed rides with Grandpa on his motorcycle.

Norman was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With the encouragement of friends Ferril King and Larry Harper, Norman became active in the church in his thirties and thereafter served faithfully in many callings, including in Scouting, the elders quorum presidency, and as executive secretary and later counselor in a bishopric.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Joan, of Heyburn; his three children, Troy (Beth) Ashby of Norco, Calif.; Bonnie (Jeff) Belliston of Pleasant Grove, Utah; and Woody Ashby of Heyburn; eight grandchildren; and a sister, JoNell (Bruce) Ford of Heyburn.

Norman was preceded in death by his parents; and by his younger brother, Jerry Ashby, and Jerry’s wife, Sharon.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 12, at the Paul LDS Stake Center, 424 W. Ellis St., with Bishop Clayton King officiating. Burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery in Heyburn.

Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 1 until 1:45 p.m. Saturday at the church.

The family expresses appreciation to the physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers at facilities in Rupert, Burley, and Twin Falls, who have provided excellent care to Norman during the period of his illness. Special thanks go to the staff at Parke View Rehabilitation and Care Center and to Minidoka Home Health.