Thomas Edward Maberly

Rupert, Idaho was Tom’s birthplace, workplace, retirement, and memorial. Tom was born April 19, 1930, to Thomas Edward Maberly Sr. and Margaret Vernon Maberly at the old Rupert Hospital on 8th Street. He was their second child, joining his sister, Madelyn Maberly (Player). As his father’s namesake, Tom carried the full hopes and dreams of his parents; however, a high and sustained fever as a newborn sent Tom Jr. down a path different from what his parents had imagined.

Tom struggled to complete grammar school in Rupert after suffering a slipped hip cartilage as a teenager. After six months in the hospital and months of recovery at home, Tom returned to Rupert High School and graduated with the class of 1951. Tom Sr. added “Thos. E. Maberly and Son” to the Holiday Farm stationary shortly after “Junior’s” graduation. Tom continued to learn from his father the best farming practices and breeding protocols for their record milk-producing “Holiday Holsteins.” He never strayed from the farm, and together, he and Tom Sr. milked a small herd and worked the 80-acre family farm until 1967. Tom often referred to these years without nostalgia. He had helped his father milk cows for decades, three times a day, from as soon as he could carry a milk pail. In Tom’s words, “I milked those d*** cows for thirty years.”

Tom may not have hit the academic mark that his parents had hoped; however, for his four nieces, Tom ruled the world of fun on the family farm. Summertime on the Holiday Farm was nothing short of bliss, and Uncle Tommy was the girls’ 6-feet-tall, blue-eyed farmer superstar. From June to August, he was sure to have one or more adoring little nieces trailing after him: hanging on for dear life in his WWII Willys Jeep, hitching a piggy-back ride, helping haul hay, or moving a handline. Whether gamely perching in a tree during a game of hide-and-seek or sharing one of his well-loved comic books, Tom was the perfect uncle.

In the community, Tom never met a person he didn’t readily call “my friend.” His generosity and sincerity towards neighbors and Rupert acquaintances was constant. By nature, Tom was completely affable and light hearted. He never had a bad day.

Tom remained on the farm until 2009, and continued to live in Rupert until dying peacefully March 27, 2019, a bachelor farmer still adored by his nieces. He is survived by his nieces, Marquerite (Peggy) Player Brown, Maureen Player Sundberg, Sally Player Petersen, and Nancy Player Legler; his four grandnieces, Maberly Brown Wimmer, Sarah Marie Brown Odom, Madelyn Sundberg, and Emma Llewellyn Sundberg; and by his great-grandniece, Margaret Maberly Wimmer.

A graveside service to remember Tom will be held at a later date. Funeral arrangements have been placed in the care of Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home of Burley.