Patricia May Allen Gunderson

ALBION – Our beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend, Patricia May Allen Gunderson, has received her wings. On Monday, May 10, 2021, in the early morning hours, she passed away at her home in Albion, Idaho, with her husband by her side. She was 80 years young.

Patricia, or as she was known by those close to her – Kiwi or Tricia, was born February 7, 1941, to Leslie Whyte and Edith May Clifford Edginton in Dunedin, New Zealand. Throughout her early years, she and her sister, Lesley, had many adventures, as they were the best of friends. At the age of 22, Mom met, and soon after married Harold “Hap” Allen in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was stationed in Antarctica with the Air Force at the time. She then made the big move to the United States to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, where Geoffrey Wynn, the first of three children, was born. Not long after, they moved to McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida, where Brian Leslie was born. As true with military life, they moved again back to California to Norton Air Force Base. They spent a lot of time traveling and camping, until Hap passed away in 1975. One of Geoff’s favorite memories was time spent at Joshua Tree, and it was also one of Mom’s.

Mom later met, and soon after married Don Gunderson in 1976, where they were blessed with a little girl, Jody Marie, the last of her three children. They lived in San Bernardino, California, until 1981, when they visited friends living in Albion, Idaho. Mom fell in love with the valley and told Dad that she wanted to move there. As his bride wished, they found a home at the foot of the mountain and made the big move. Unbeknownst to Mom, she did not realize how hard it would snow in the winter, and every winter for 40 years anyone who would listen got to hear how much she hated it.

Mom held many titles over the years, and she made many friends. From the time she moved to Albion, she worked at Kiwi’s Little Mountain Inn (she and Dad owned it together). Then she worked in Malta at Woody’s Country Inn (which later relocated to Burley), later, she worked at the Albion Social Club and finally Pomerelle Ski Resort where she worked side by side with her daughter. She loved to help those in need and organized several fund-raising benefits for those who needed it most. She got to travel all over with Dad during his years of service with the American Legion up until her heart attack in 2012.

Mom loved to spend as much time as she could with her grandchildren whenever she had the chance, as some lived far away, but she always tried to keep in touch as they grew up and started families of their own. One of Jody’s favorite memories was that her Mom got to see her children grow up.

Patricia is mourned and survived by her husband, Don; her sister, Lesley Henshaw (Cliff); son, Geoffrey Allen (Donna); daughter, Jody Denning (Scott); daughter, Tracy Simmons; 15 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren with two more due in June and July. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Hap; her son, Brian; and her great-granddaughter, Paisley.

The family will be honoring Patricia’s wishes and will not be having a memorial service at this time; however, they will have a celebration of life at a later date this summer.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home of Burley.