Thomas Gene Priest

BURLEY – Thomas Gene Priest, 95, of Burley, Idaho, passed away peacefully after a short illness on February 20, 2026, at Pomerelle Place in Burley.

Gene was born September 11, 1930 in Morgan, Utah, the second of five children born to LaVon Mariner Priest and Tryphena (Tiny) Faye Farnsworth. At a young age Gene moved with his family to Brigham City, Utah, then to Idaho Falls, next to Twin Falls where he attended 1st and 2nd grade, and eventually they settled west of Burley. He met Barbara Jean Warren while she was working at a local diner. They married on January 5, 1951, and were married for 64 years when she passed away in April of 2015. To this union was born two boys and two girls, Thomas Warren, Roger Kirk, Kerry, and Cindy.

Dad enjoyed his growing up years. He had fond memories of staying with his grandmother Priest in Brigham City during the summers, working on the family farm and neighboring farms, catching the train called the Galloping Goose when he and other kids wanted a ride to town to watch the movies, and as a teen, riding up and down main street with his car on which he had modified the mufflers to make a ruckus. He annoyed the police so much that he was sent to the judge. Dad was a little sassy and told the judge that there was no law against his noisy mufflers. The judge threatened to charge him with disturbing the peace, so Dad complied.

Dad knew hard work as did many of that generation. At a young age he helped clear sage brush on two different uncle’s farms. At the age of 16 he worked at Amalgamated Sugar Company at night because there was a shortage of men due to World War II. He was working at Union Seed when he married our mother. In 1960, Dad went to work for John Warren, the owner of Starrh’s Ferry Building Supply, where he remained employed for 38 years until his retirement.

The first home that Dad and Mom bought had only four rooms, two upstairs, and two downstairs, and an outhouse outside. Dad built onto that home three or four times, and he did the work himself. Then, in 1969, our parents had a new home built and we moved into it in February of 1970. Although Dad did not build the new home himself, he did as much of the work that he could. He enjoyed many of the aspects of the construction business. Dad took pride in both homes, and he enjoyed keeping a tidy yard with flowers, a garden and fruit trees. He also took pride in his automobiles and always wanted them clean and polished.

After Dad retired, he and Mom traveled a bit throughout the western U.S., and for a few years they spent the winter months in Arizona. They did not travel with other couples; it was just the two of them. After Mom passed, Dad would not travel with us kids. He would only go for short drives in the Magic Valley. He would always say that he lost his traveling partner.

Dad was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although he was not active most of his life, he thoroughly enjoyed his home teachers throughout the years. We are especially grateful for Jerry Thaxton who faithfully visited Dad for many, many years. Dad was a good father who taught us children good values and a strong work ethic by word and example.

After Mom died, Dad maintained his independence for a number of years, and, even though he required more care as he aged, he kept his independent spirit until the end.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the staff at Pomerelle Place and Intermountain Homecare & Hospice for the care they gave to our dad.

Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara; son, Tom Priest; son-in-law, Ted Bodily; parents, LaVon and Tiny Priest; siblings, John Priest, Grace Davis, and Bertha Giles; and great-granddaughter, Olivia Grace Barnhart.

He is survived by his children, Kirk (LaNae) Priest of Burley, Kerry (Rick) Booth of Dammeron Valley, Utah, and Cindy Bodily of Burley; 12 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; sister, Jodi Douilard of Salmon, Idaho; sisters-in-law, Shirley Warren of Burley, and Geraldine O’Connor of San Andreas, California; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, located at 1350 E. 16th Street, in Burley, where family and friends will be received from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Burial will follow at Gem Memorial Gardens in Burley.

A live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available and maintained at the following link: https://youtu.be/2Yxg5tjohXU.